
If you are designing a house or house extension within the Brisbane City Council local government area and have a site which is below 450m2 and/or is located in the traditional building character overlay you may not require a town planning application.
Should you comply with all the below items your development will be considered ‘accepted development’ and will not require a development application to be lodged with Council.
Please note that you must comply with both columns if your site is a small lot and in the traditional building character overlay.
**This advice does not replace the professional opinion of a private town planning consultant and is for educational purposes only
Small Lot Houses (Sites <450m2)











- A minimum front boundary setback of 2m
- A minimum side boundary setback of 1.5m
- Maximum driveway crossover of 4.5m
- If your site has a frontage of 15m or more, the total building footprint (including carport) cannot exceed 50%




- are offset from the window of a habitable room in the adjacent dwelling house to limit direct outlook; or
- have sill heights of 1.5m above floor level; or
- are covered by fixed obscure glazing in any part of the window below 1.5m above floor level; or
- have fixed external screens; or
- in the case of screening for a ground floor level, fencing to a height of 1.5m above ground floor level;
- screening devices required are:
- solid translucent screens, perforated or slatted panels or fixed louvres that have a maximum of 25% openings, with a maximum opening dimension of 50mm, that are permanently fixed and durable
- offset a minimum of 0.3m from the face of any window
- may be hinged to facilitate emergency egress only



- are offset from the window of a habitable room in the adjacent dwelling house to limit direct outlook; or
- have sill heights of 1.5m above floor level; or
- are covered by fixed obscure glazing in any part of the window below 1.5m above floor level; or
- have fixed external screens; or
- in the case of screening for a ground floor level, fencing to a height of 1.5m above ground floor level;
- screening devices required are:
- solid translucent screens, perforated or slatted panels or fixed louvres that have a maximum of 25% openings, with a maximum opening dimension of 50mm, that are permanently fixed and durable
- offset a minimum of 0.3m from the face of any window
- may be hinged to facilitate emergency egress only
Houses in the Traditional Building Character Overlay




- The rear of the dwelling, behind the highest roof point (unless on a corner site)
- Internal walls or features (pre-war or post-war)
- Pre-1947 external features as long as these are replaces with new features of the same style and appearance
- Stairs, lifts and ramps
- Outbuildings where are the rear of the house
- Post-1946 additions and buildings
- Post-1946 material to reveal the original design
- Works previously approved by Council which did not require assessment of demolition works
You can enclose under a existing building but only to the extent of the core of the building above along the front and side boundaries (unless in the Local character sub-category)
You can construct an enclosed extension to the rear of the building (the rear being behind the highest roof point)





- At the rear of the building
- Between the building and side boundary
- In front of the house where the lesser of 6m or 50% of the lot width (excludes eaves)
