Shed, garage, carport or gazebo

You may need a Planning Permit, a Building Permit or both to build a shed, garage, carport or gazebo.

You may also need other permits, depending on your situation.

This guide is for structures that:

have a solid roof and
are not built on or over a deck.

If you're building a pergola, see our Build a pergola page.

For other types of structures and projects, check the guides available on our Do I need a permit page.

How to use this guide

To help work out which permits you need, start at Step 1 (below) and answer the questions one at a time.

In this guide we refer to your ‘property’. This is the land you own, sometimes referred to in official documents as the allotment.

More information

If you need help at any step, email [email protected] or call (03) 9278 4888 and ask for our:

Statutory Planning team (information on planning or Planning Permits).
Building Services team (information on building or Building Permits).

Step 1 – Check for any restrictions

Check for easements

An easement is an area of land on your property that councils and other authorities are allowed to access. When an easement is obstructed, it can prevent important maintenance work and block the flow of stormwater.

Check your Certificate of Title for any easements. If you don’t have this document, you can get a copy from the Landata website for a small fee.

Check if the:

area of the structure is 10 sq m or less and it will be built over an easement – you may need permission from the service authority relevant to the easement. Contact the authority for advice.
structure will be built within 1 m of a water supply – you may need permission from the water supply authority. Contact the authority for advice.

Check for special restrictions

Some properties have special restrictions under the Boroondara Planning Scheme.

To check if your property is listed, visit the Department of Transport and Planning website’s Schedule to Clause 51.01 Specific Sites and Exclusions page.

If your property is listed, contact our Statutory Planning team to find out what special restrictions and exemptions apply.

Does your property have any restrictions?

If yes, check the plans for your structure comply with any requirements, then go to the next step.
If no, go to the next step.

Step 2 – Check your property zone and overlays

Create a Planning Property Report on the VicPlan website by entering the address of your property.

This will give you the zone of your property and any overlays.

You need a Planning Permit if your property is in a Commercial 1 Zone or a Commercial 2 Zone.

You need a Planning Permit if your property has any of these overlays:

Heritage Overlay
Public Acquisition Overlay
Land Subject to Inundation Overlay
Environmental Significance Overlay
Design and Development Overlay (except for Design and Development Overlay Schedule 4)
Significant Landscape Overlay and your structure is 6 m or more when measured from the natural ground level to the top.

If your property is on the Victorian Heritage Register you may also need approval from Heritage Victoria for any buildings and works. Contact Heritage Victoria for advice on how to apply for approval.

If your property has a Special Building Overlay, contact our Statutory Planning team for advice on whether you need a Planning Permit.

Is your property in a commercial zone or does it have any of these overlays?

If yes, apply for a Planning Permit then go to Step 4.
If no, go to the next step.

Step 3 – Check your property zone requirements

Check the zone of your property in the Planning Property Report you created in Step 2.

If your property is in a commercial zone, go to the next step.

The following requirements apply if your property is in any of these zones:

General Residential
Neighbourhood Residential
Residential Growth
Mixed Use.

Calculate the area of your property using its boundary dimensions (Tip: If your property is square or rectangular, calculate the area by multiplying the length of the property by the width).

You can find boundary dimensions in the Certificate of Title for your property. If you don’t have this document, you can get a copy from the Landata website for a small fee.

To build a carport or garage, you need a Planning Permit if the area of your property is under 300 sq m.

To build a shed or gazebo, you need a Planning Permit if any of these apply:

The area of your property is under 300 sq m.
The gross floor area of the shed or gazebo is more than 10 sq m and the shed or gazebo is higher than 3 m when measured from natural ground level to the top of the structure.

Does your structure require a Planning Permit?

If yes, apply for a Planning Permit then go to the next step.
If no, go to the next step.

Step 4 – Check if you need a Building Permit

You need a Building Permit if any of these apply:

The structure will be attached to a building.
The floor area of the structure will be more than 10 sq m.
The structure will be built of masonry (for example, concrete, stone, bricks).
The structure will be more than 3 m high (when measured from natural ground level to the top).
The structure will be more than 2.4 m high (when measured from natural ground level to the top) and is within 1 m of a boundary.
The structure will be positioned further forward than the front wall of an existing building on the same property, for example, the front wall of a house.
There are no existing buildings on the property and the structure is less than 9 m from the front boundary.
The property is on a corner, with no existing buildings, and the structure is less than 2 m from any boundary that runs alongside a side street (side street boundary).

Does the structure require you to have a Building Permit?

If yes, apply for a Building Permit then go to the next step.
If no, go to the next step.

Step 5 – Check if you need any other permits

You may need other permits, depending on your situation.

If you need to:

remove, prune or do works within 2 m of a canopy or significant tree during your build, apply for a Tree Works Permit
store equipment on a road, footpath or nature strip, apply for a Road or Footpath Occupancy Permit.

If your works could impact:

driveway access to your property, apply for a Vehicle Crossing Permit
public assets, such as roads, footpath or nature strip, apply for an Asset Protection Permit.

You can begin construction:

after all your permits or permissions have been issued
if your situation does not require any permits or permissions.