Where can I put a shed on my block?

Anywhere the lot’s rules leave room for it. A shed has to keep the distance from each boundary that the rules set for its size and height, keep clear of the house unless it is built as part of it, stay off easements and sewer mains unless the owner of the main agrees, sit outside any part of an overlay that would change the answer, and fit inside the lot’s site cover with everything already built. Check those five before the slab is poured, because a slab is hard to move.

How close to the boundary can it go?

That depends on the shed’s height, the length of its wall along the boundary and the rules where you live. A small low shed can often sit closer than a tall garage, and a corner block has two street boundaries to keep back from. The post on boundary setbacks explains how each state reads the distance.

How close can a shed be to the house?

Close enough to be handy, far enough to stay a separate building. A shed near the house raises the fire question, because the gap between them decides how each wall is built, and a shed that touches or joins the house is treated as part of it. The certifier reads the gap from the site plan, so draw it to scale. The post on attached and freestanding structures explains why the join matters.

Can I put a shed over a sewer main?

Only with the consent of the main’s owner, which can ask for the shed to move or for the slab to be designed around the main. A slab over a main can stop the main being dug up, so the owner reads the plan before the council does, on its own timeline. Easements are shown on the title, and the post on building near sewer mains covers the steps.

What else decides the spot?

a flood overlay, which can set the floor level or keep the shed out of the flow path
a bushfire overlay, which can change what the shed is built from
site cover, which counts the shed with the house, the patio and the carport
roof water, which has to drain somewhere the council accepts
an estate covenant, which can limit the size, the colour and the place of a shed

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. Drop the shed on at its kit size and drag it until every distance clears the rules.

Search your address, see what the plan shows for sheds and garages, or run the council approval check for the shed’s size. The Logan page lists what we hold for that council, and site plans by council covers the rest of Australia. The post on how close a shed can be to the boundary covers the setback and the fire rules. The post on council approval for a garage covers garages, carports and the fire rules.

Common questions

Where can I put a shed on my block? Where it keeps the distances the rules set from each boundary and the house, stays off easements and sewer mains, sits outside the parts of any overlay that change the answer and fits the lot’s site cover. Check all of it before the slab is poured.

How close can a shed be to the house? Far enough apart for the fire rules to treat them as separate buildings, or joined and built as part of the house. The gap decides how each wall is built, so the site plan shows it to scale.

Can I put a shed over a sewer main? Only with the consent of the main’s owner, which reads the plan before the council does. It can ask for the shed to move or for the slab to be designed around the main.