Building restrictions

Details: Last Updated: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 10:17

When building, renovating or adding to your property, you may want to know if there are any restrictions on what you can build or the style you can build. In some areas, you may be restricted to the size or the design of what you can build.

General building requirements

If you are building or extending any new structures, you will generally require a building approval, this information can be found in Building work that requires a building approval. You will also need to make sure your building is setback from your boundaries and Council infrastructure by the required distance. Setback requirements are outlined in Siting discretion for building works.

However, in some areas you may also be subject to other building restrictions which may require specific building design or further applications to Council.

Are you building a house in the rural or rural residential zone? More information on the requirements can be found in Rural Dwelling/Rural Residential Dwelling.

Sheds in rural residential areas

If you have a property in a rural residential zone, Council’s Planning Scheme has specific requirements if the total floor area of all sheds on the property will be larger than 10% of the land size. For example, if your block is 4000m2, extra requirements are triggered when the combined total size of all sheds is over 400m2.

These requirements can be found in the Rural Residential Zone Code, which is included in Part 6 of the Planning Scheme.

Neighbourhood character areas and places

Toowoomba and the surrounding towns have many historic homes and distinct streetscape character areas. Some historic homes are listed in the Planning Scheme as neighbourhood character places and character areas are identified by the neighbourhood character overlay in the Planning Scheme Maps.

Within neighbourhood character areas, a new house requires a development application to Council for assessment of the design. If you live in an existing character house, you will be restricted to the type of shed/carport you can place on the property, as it must remain in keeping within the design of the house and located so it does not detract from the character of the home or the street.

If your house is listed as a neighbourhood character place, extensions to the front half of the house may require approval. A full list of what development requires further applications to be submitted can be found in Part 5 of the Planning Scheme.

Heritage places

Heritage places are places that have significant cultural value. Local heritage places are nominated by Council and State heritage places are identified by the Queensland Government. Council’s intent is to preserve heritage places and ensure any development is compatible with the significance of the place. A full list of what development requires further applications to be submitted can be found in Part 5 of the Planning Scheme.

A list of neighbourhood character and heritage places can be located within Schedule 6 of the Planning Scheme. More information on the neighbourhood character and heritage overlays can be found in Neighbourhood character overlay