A plain English explanation of this ACT planning and property term.
Setback means the horizontal distance between a block boundary and the outside face of any building or structure on the block including:a) a building wall;b) a post that supports a roof; orc) a balcony, deck, or verandah.
A setback is the shortest horizontal distance between a block boundary and the outside face of a building or structure. The measuring point can include a wall, a roof-supporting post, a balcony, a deck or a verandah—not only the main wall of the house. For example, if a verandah post is closer to the boundary than the wall, the post may determine the setback. The required distance depends on the relevant boundary, zone, floor level and development rule.