Court rejects developer’s bid to turn Sydney boarding house into luxury apartments

The NSW land and environment court found the 32-room boarding house on Selwyn Street in Paddington should be retained. Photograph: Mike Mannix

A court has rejected a developer’s bid to turn a boarding house into luxury apartments in a case the lord mayor of Sydney hopes will set a precedent to stop the ongoing loss of affordable housing.

In the wake of the court’s decision the mayor, Clover Moore, has also called on the Minns government to allow significant loss of individual homes as a ground for rejecting development applications.