Redland City runs from canal homes in Raby Bay to acreage in Mount Cotton and Sheldon, and the council rules that matter change a lot between them. The good news is that Redland City Plan 2018 treats a patio, carport or deck as accepted development, so most jobs need only a building approval from a private certifier. These are the exceptions worth knowing.
Canal and lake lots
Where a lot boundary adjoins a canal wall, a revetment wall or an artificial lake, Redland’s design and siting fact sheet keeps buildings and structures 9 m back from it. On a canal home that is often the deciding rule for a waterfront patio. A design closer than 9 m needs council approval, so we measure from the wall first and work back.
The boundary allowance
A garage, carport or shed can sit closer to a side or rear boundary than the standard setback when:
- Everything in that setback adds up to no more than 9 m along one boundary
- It is no more than 4.5 m high, with an average height of 3.5 m
- It stays 1.5 m clear of a habitable room window on the neighbour’s lot
An existing shed or garage wall in the same setback eats into the 9 m, so measure what is already there.
Corner blocks
On a corner lot, nothing over 2 m high can stand inside the 9 m × 9 m truncation at the corner. Fences, screens and retaining walls over 1 m are also kept out of a smaller truncation near the corner. That affects where a carport can go on a corner block, and it is one of the first things we check.
Site cover and parking
Everything with an impervious roof, patio included, can cover no more than 50% of the lot, and the lot has to keep room for two parked cars. On some larger lots the fact sheet sets 30% site cover and setbacks of 5 or 10 m, so a large rural lot is treated differently from a suburban block. We check which figures apply to yours.
Height
On a lot sloping up to 15%, the building height cap is 8.5 m. A roof over a deck may reach 10 m when it covers no more than 10 m², is the only such roof on the building and is not enclosed by walls. That matters for a roofed deck off the upper floor of a two-storey home.
Building over a sewer
Redland City Council is its own water, sewer and stormwater provider, and assesses building near its pipes against the Queensland Development Code:
- No referral where footings keep 1.2 m from a small sewer, stormwater or water main and 1.5 m from the centre of a manhole.
- 3 m from a sewer over 225 mm or a stormwater drain over 375 mm.
- A lightweight structure, with no footings over the pipe and non-masonry construction, can run up to 10 m along a small main, still keeping 1.5 m from the manhole.
- Anything closer is a referral to council with an engineer’s certificate and plan. The 2026-27 fee is $825.
Coastal and environmental overlays
Lots in Redland’s coastal protection overlay need code assessment by council for building work. Other overlays, such as environmental and bushland mapping, can affect clearing for footings near trees. We check council’s mapping for your lot before we design.
Salt air
Close to Moreton Bay, salt spray shortens the life of the wrong materials. BlueScope sets which Colorbond product suits each distance from the water, and near the bay we often use Colorbond Ultra with stainless fixings. A few streets back, standard Colorbond is fine. We tell you which your address needs at the measure-up.
Bay winds
Storms come off the bay hard, especially on exposed waterfront lots. Every patio and carport is engineered for the wind rating at your address, with footings and tie-downs to suit.
Getting started
Send us your address, the size you want and any photos. We check the canal, corner, site cover, sewer and overlay rules before we price, then handle the approval as part of the job.
Roofed decks on two-storey homes
Many Redland homes on the water are two storeys, with an upper deck looking out over the bay or the canal. A roof over that deck is assessed like any other roofed deck: it needs a building approval, it must meet the height rules above, and the canal setback still applies to anything built near the water. We draw the roof and the deck together so the certifier sees the whole structure.