Can I put a shed at the side of my house?

Often you can. The side of the house is a common place for a garden shed, but it is also where the side setback is tightest, where the water, sewer and power often run, and where the path to the back yard usually goes. Whether a shed fits there depends on all three, and on the rules your state and council set for small structures near a boundary.

What does the side setback allow?

Most states and councils let a small shed sit closer to a side boundary than a house can, within limits on its height and its length along the boundary. A larger or taller shed is held further back, and where it sits closer than the rules allow, the council usually decides whether it can stay there. In Queensland that decision comes before the certifier gives building approval. The post on boundary setbacks explains how the distances are read, and the post on where a shed can go covers the rest of the lot.

What runs down the side of the house?

More than most people expect. Before you place a shed beside the house, look for:

the sewer line and its inspection openings, which must stay reachable
the water and gas supply, and the power box on the wall
the hot water unit and the air conditioning outlet
downpipes and the drains that carry roof water away
an easement along the boundary, shown on the title

Work over a sewer main goes to the asset owner first, and the post on building near sewer mains explains how to find one.

How close to the house can a shed be?

There is no one distance. A shed attached to the house, or very close to it, can be read with the house for some rules, such as bushfire construction, and its roof water has to be carried away rather than dropped against the house. It must not cover the house’s vents or block the way to the power box.

Does a shed beside the house need council approval?

It depends on its size, its height and where it sits. A small shed may be exempt within the limits the state sets, and the post on shed approval explains when building approval comes in.

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the council and building rules for your lot from its address, checks the design against them as you place it, lets you edit it as often as you like, and prints the site plan. Site plans and assessments in minutes. The gap to the boundary and to the house shows as you slide the shed along the side.

Search your address, or see what the plan shows for a shed or carport. Each council page, such as Logan, lists what we hold for that council, and site plans by council covers the rest of Australia.

Common questions

Can I put a shed at the side of my house? Often you can, where the side setback, the services running down that side and access to the back of the lot leave room. Where the shed sits closer to the boundary than the rules allow, the council usually decides whether it can stay there.

How close to the house can a shed be? There is no one distance for every lot. A shed attached to the house, or very close to it, can be read with the house for some rules, such as bushfire construction, and it must not block the house’s drainage, vents or power box.

Does a shed beside the house need council approval? It depends on its size, its height and where it sits. A small shed may be exempt within the limits the state sets, and a larger one, or one close to the boundary, usually needs building approval and sometimes a siting decision from the council.