On a narrow block, the only place for a carport is often down the side of the house, right against the fence. In Queensland that is usually allowed, within limits.
The rule
Under the Queensland Development Code, and repeated in the Redland and Ipswich schemes, a class 10a building such as a carport, garage or shed can sit closer to a side or rear boundary when:
- Everything built in that setback adds up to no more than 9 m along that boundary
- It is no more than 4.5 m high, with an average height of 3.5 m or less
- It stays 1.5 m clear of a habitable room window on the neighbour’s side
The 9 m is shared
The 9 m counts everything already in that setback along that boundary, not just the new carport. An existing shed or garage wall in the setback eats into the allowance.
Fire and roof water
Close to the boundary the roof needs gutters that keep the water on your side, and very close structures can need fire-rated walls. The engineering and the certifier cover both.
Where it differs
- Brisbane small lots: a non-habitable structure can sit 0.5 m from a side boundary up to 3.5 m high, for up to 9 m of length in low density areas and 15 m in higher density zones.
- Scenic Rim: sets its own setbacks rather than the state code, and caps the total size of outbuildings by lot size.
- Corner lots: Redland and Ipswich keep structures over 2 m out of the 9 m × 9 m corner truncation.