Does your home or property already have a carport? If it doesn’t have one yet, I guess you need to first find out whether building a carport requires approval from your local council, or from some other government agency. Read on to learn more about building/installing carports, and what types of approval you need to have before commencing.

What’s a Carport?

According to standard definition, carports are defined as semi-covered structures which generally consist of a steel or fabric roof that’s supported by steel posts. Carports are tough, sturdy open-style structures which require little or low maintenance, and they come in a wide assortment of styles, and are designed to connect to a home, garage or another building.

And unlike garages, carports do not have walls or doors, and they only have support beams and a weather-proof roof. These are free-standing or attached structures too, which means that the can be assembled literally anywhere.

Do Carports Require a Building Permit?

Before you start shopping for carports for sale in Brisbane, let’s first discuss the carport building regulations in each state in Australia. For starters, in New South wales, individuals or families are allowed one carport per residential dwelling on the site.

But, if the property is less than 8m wide and there’s little or no vehicle access from a secondary road, carports cannot be built. In Victoria, a carport doesn’t require a permit if the floor area is less than 10 square meters, the height is less than 3m or 2.4m within the boundary, is attached to another building on the same property, is located behind the front wall of the main building, and is not constructed or made of masonry. If this sounds confusing, perhaps you should have a frank discussion with your local council in your part of Victoria!

In the Northern Territories, carports generally require building approval, and you can get this from a Northern Territory-registered Building Certifier, or from an approved Self-Certifying Manufacturer. In Tasmania and Queensland, carports require permits from the local council.

In South Australia, property owners need to apply for approval when having a carport installed, and they could get it from the local council or private certifier. Carports that meet the criteria laid out in the state’s Residential Code only need building approval, and must be approved within 25 working days.

In bright and sunny Western Australia, carport builders need to have a permit from the state’s Building License and Development Approval agency. For the carport’s maximum height and floor area, the regulations vary, as does the part of the structure that’s being measured to determine the height. Thus, one will need to call or contact their local council to exactly determine what rules apply when having a carport built or installed.

Now that you have an idea of each state’s regulations regarding the installation or construction of carports, let’s now talk about the perks of owning one. First, carports protect your vehicle from exposure to the elements (sun, rain, ice, hail, snow).

They also require no extra property taxes, and they can be manually moved without the need to dismantle them first. Carports can also serve as shade for the home or building, and they can withstand bad weather, whether it’s a hurricane, sandstorm or just heavy rain!