It is the first question a lot of buyers ask about a Paddington cottage.
The answer is usually no.
That is not the end of the conversation, though it does change the shape of it.
Paddington is one of Brisbane's most heavily character protected suburbs.
The timber and tin streetscapes are the reason people want to live there, and they are also the reason the planning controls are what they are.
Buyers who understand that early tend to buy better.
Buyers who find out after they have signed tend to have a difficult few weeks.
What the character overlay actually protects
Brisbane City Plan applies character protections to homes built before 1947 and to streets where those homes still set the tone. The controls sit across zoning and overlays, and the practical effect is that the original house, and particularly the part of it facing the street, is protected.
The test is not whether the house is beautiful. It is not whether it is comfortable or well maintained or worth saving in your view. It is whether the dwelling and the streetscape fall within the protected category. Plenty of tired, awkward, badly renovated houses in Paddington are protected. Condition is not the question.
What you can usually do
This is where buyers are often more optimistic than the rules allow, and also where they are sometimes needlessly pessimistic.
Raising a character home and building in underneath is a well established path in Brisbane and is frequently approved. Extending to the rear, where the addition sits behind the original form and does not dominate the street presentation, is also common. Interior work is generally far less constrained than exterior work. Restoration is encouraged.