Building in an older city
Brisbane has the widest mix of houses we work on: pre-war Queenslanders on stumps, post-war timber homes, 1970s and 80s brick lowsets in the southern suburbs, and townhouses on lots under 300 m². The age of the house decides most of the design, especially how the roof fixes on and how much fall we can get.
High-set timber homes often suit a freestanding or flyover patio off the back deck. Brick lowsets suit a fascia or flyover attachment. On a small lot, the City Plan’s small lot code is the first thing we read.
What City Plan 2014 says
- Character areas
- Homes built before 1947 in the traditional building character overlay have extra rules: structures forward of the house are restricted and work is assessed against the character provisions. A patio at the back is usually fine; a carport in front of a character home usually needs approval.
- Carport and garage width
- On a lot under 450 m², a garage door and carport together are capped at 6 m wide facing the street.
- Steep blocks
- On a small lot (180 to 450 m²) where the ground falls 1 in 4 or steeper from the street, a double carport up to 6 m wide may sit closer to the road than the house. Handy on the hilly small lots in Holland Park and Carina Heights.
- Small lot setbacks
- On lots from 180 m² to 450 m², non-habitable structures such as a carport can sit 0.5 m from a side boundary up to 3.5 m high, for 9 m of length in low density areas.
- Privacy screens
- On small lots a privacy screen on a deck or patio is limited to 25% openings of no more than 50 mm each.
Sewer and stormwater
In Brisbane the sewer and water mains belong to Urban Utilities and stormwater belongs to council, so a build-over can involve two different bodies. Compliant designs are approved by the certifier, who notifies Urban Utilities. We set the posts out to avoid the mains where we can.
Rules from the Brisbane City Plan 2014 (version 37.00/2026), read October 2026. Every lot is different: overlays, easements and the zone can change what applies, and your certifier confirms it. We check all of this before we quote.