How wide can my garage or carport opening be?
The Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 limit the size of garage doors and carports that face a street. The combined width of all garage door openings or the external width of a carport must not exceed 50% of the total length of the building façade facing that street.
This requirement is intended to ensure that garages and carports do not dominate the appearance of the home from the street. The requirement does not apply where the garage or carport faces a rear lane.
For example, if the front of your house is 12 metres wide, the garage door or carport opening can be up to 6 metres wide.
Reference: Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 (NI2026-303), Assessment Outcome 27.6- Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026
Short Answer
The total width of your garage door opening or carport opening facing a street cannot be more than 50% of the width of the building façade facing that street. This limit does not apply if the garage or carport faces a rear lane.
Detailed Explanation
The Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 limit how wide a garage door or carport opening can be when it faces a street. The total width of the garage door opening (or the outside width of a carport) must be no more than half the width of the front of the house that faces the street.
For example, if the front of your house is 12 metres wide, the garage door or carport opening can be up to 6 metres wide.
This rule helps ensure that the garage does not dominate the appearance of the house from the street. It does not apply if the garage or carport faces a rear lane instead of the street.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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