Do I Need a Building Permit for a Verandah, Carport or Deck?

If you are planning a verandah, carport, deck or pergola in Victoria, check the Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2018 (including Schedule 3) before you order steel or pour footings. Size, height, whether the structure is roofed, and whether it is attached to the house all matter.

Schedule 3 figures you can rely on

Freestanding Class 10a carport or shed

Same Schedule 3, item 1 test as for sheds: floor area not exceeding 10 m²; height not more than 3 m (or 2.4 m within 1 m of a boundary); not further forward than the front wall of the house if appurtenant to it; street setbacks if it is a standalone Class 10a; and not masonry. If any of those fail, you need a building permit.

Unroofed pergola

A pergola is an open structure that is unroofed (it may have open-weave permeable covering). Under Schedule 3, item 16, a pergola is exempt from a building permit if:

• It is not more than 3.6 m in height
• Floor area does not exceed 20 m²
• If appurtenant to a Class 1 building, it is located no further forward than 2.5 m forward of the front wall of that building (or, in other cases, no further forward than the front wall of the building to which it is appurtenant)

Roofed verandah

A roofed verandah attached to a building generally requires a building permit. There is no Schedule 3 size exemption that removes the permit requirement for an attached roofed verandah the way item 1 does for a small freestanding Class 10a shed.

Decks

Decks attached to a dwelling, or constructed as part of the amenity of a dwelling, generally require a building permit. Do not assume a low deck is exempt from a building permit because Part 5 siting rules mention decks under 800 mm in other contexts. Those siting rules are not a Schedule 3 building-permit exemption for decks.

Other reasons you will need a surveyor

• Attachment to an existing dwelling
• Setbacks from boundaries and other buildings
• Bushfire attack level and engineering for wind or structure

Exemptions are technical and easy to misread on floor area, height and siting. A quick review with NEBA is cheaper than dealing with a building notice or building order later.

How to apply

Fill out Form 1 (Application for Building Permit) and attach any documentation you have (site plan, manufacturer or engineering drawings, and a note on whether you are an owner builder or using a registered builder). Upload everything through our contact form, or grab Form 1 from Forms & Downloads. We assess and, where required, issue a building permit with the right mandatory notification stages.

This guide covers Victorian law only. For Albury NSW work, see building permits Albury.

Related: shed permits and planning vs building permits.