Garage in the border of the plot. What conditions must be met?

Do you want to put up a garage, but you don’t have space on the lot? In this situation it is worth to consider building in the border of the plot. What conditions should be met?

What kind of construction on the plot boundary?

Garage construction at the plot boundary means that it will be built at the boundary, i.e. no element of the building, e.g. roof eaves, will stick out beyond the plot boundary. You do not need a neighbor’s permission to build a garage in this manner.

If you want to build a garage, the wall of which will stand exactly on the boundary of the plot, the consent of the neighbor will be necessary. In such a situation you do not build the garage on the boundary but on the neighbor’s plot.

Construction of a garage on the boundary in the light of legal regulations

Construction Law regulations allow for such placement of a garage only in specific cases:

• when the local zoning plan allows it – this must be a clearly defined provision. If it does not exist, you cannot build a garage on the boundary;
• if your neighbor has a garage built on your border, you may “attach” your garage to it;
• the plot is less than 16 m wide and you are building a garage in a single-family or homestead development;
• when the dimensions of the garage do not exceed 6.5 m in length and 3 m in height.

The above regulations apply only if the adjacent parcel is an agricultural, construction or recreational parcel. If the neighbouring property is a road plot, then other regulations must be met, e.g. the Act on Public Roads.

The wall in the boundary of the plot must not have windows and doors. If you want to put them, you must move the garage at least 4 m away from the boundary.

Fire wall

The wall, which is located at the border of the plot, must be a fire separation wall. According to building regulations, such a wall should have:

• adequate fire resistance,
• the face of the wall should protrude by 30 cm.

Instead of the above solution, a strip of minimum 2m width can be used, which has the fire resistance specified in the regulations.

Building a garage with a notification or permission?

According to the construction law, a garage of the area up to 35^m2 can be built with a notification, if the number of such objects does not exceed 2 for each 500^{m2 of} the plot. If the garage is built within the boundary of the plot, the neighboring plot is within the area of its negative impact. This means that the neighbor cannot freely develop his own plot. Many authorities refer to this provision and issue a negative decision – they require a building permit.

It is not possible to build a garage in the border of the plot with a notification, because such construction may limit or even hinder the use of neighboring land. Even if the garage will be less than 35^m2. The exception is when there is a garage on the neighboring plot in the border. Then you only need to “stick” a new one.

You can put a garage in the border only in special cases. It does not matter what material it will be made of. In most cases, to build it, you need a building permit.

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