Building a carport or garage

Before you build a garage or carport, check if you need planning approval. 

Definition

Brisbane City Plan 2014 allows for the construction of a carport or garage as part of a dwelling house. A 'dwelling house' is a residential use of premises for one household that contains a single dwelling. The use includes outbuildings and works normally associated with a dwelling.

Preferred locations

A carport or garage is accepted development, subject to requirements of the property location in the following zones:

• Environmental management zone
• Emerging community zone
• Rural zone
• Rural residential zone
• Township zone.

A carport or garage is accepted development, subject to requirements of your property location in the following zones and the Dwelling house character overlay:

• Low density residential zone
• Low-medium density residential zone
• Medium density residential zone
• Character residential zone.

For each of these zones, your design must comply with all identified requirements of the Dwelling house code. If on a small lot, it must comply with all the identified requirements of the Dwelling house (small lot) code. Check if your property is within a neighbourhood plan area or within an overlay. This may change the category of assessment.

Accepted development does not require Brisbane City Council approval. You will not need anything in writing from Council for your project. For a proposal to be accepted development, it must meet all identified requirements of the applicable code. Where it does not meet all identified requirements, the proposal becomes assessable development. You will require a planning application.

When a planning application is required, assessment is only required against the performance outcomes that the proposal fails to meet. For all other compliant acceptable outcomes, assessment is part of the planning application.

Your project may be assessable development and require Council approval where the site location is within a neighbourhood plan area or a relevant overlay.

For information about your property, visit key facts about your property to find out:

• whether it has a dwelling house character overlay
• which zone it is located in
• whether it is located in a neighbourhood plan area or within an overlay.

Building approval

If you are building a new house and want to add a garage or carport, approval should be part of the building application for your house.

You will need separate building approval to build a garage or carport on a property with an existing house.

A building approval is in addition to any planning approval that you may need.

You can arrange for building approval of a garage or carport through a building certifier. You must give the certifier scaled and detailed plans prepared by a suitably qualified building industry professional.

You can seek an alternative setback from the front, side or rear boundary by applying for a siting variation. The private building certifier is the assessment manager for this application, and Council provides referral agency advice as part of this process.

Other approvals to consider

You must have a driveway permit to cross the footpath to build, repair or modify a driveway.