Guides
Do You Need Council Approval for a Patio or Carport in WA?
When approval is needed, what the application wants, and which parts of it come with the kit.
The short answer
Usually yes. Most patios and carports in Western Australia need a building permit from your local government, and the application wants drawings, engineering and a site plan for the structure you are actually building. Rules and setbacks vary by council, so the only reliable answer comes from yours.
- Usually
- Yes, a permit is needed
- Decided by
- Your local government
- Comes with the kit
- Plans and span tables
- Your side
- The application and fees
01
Why we will not tell you it is exempt
Exemptions exist, but they turn on the size, the height, the setbacks, the zone and the council, and they change. Anyone who tells you a structure is exempt without seeing your block is guessing.
Ring your local government, or check their website. It is one phone call and it is the difference between a permit and an enforcement letter.
Approval is decided by your council, not by your supplier. Do not take a supplier's word for it, including ours.
02
What an application usually asks for
The list varies, but most WA councils want some version of this.
Tick as you go
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03
What comes with the kit
Every kit here is delivered with engineer-rated plans and span tables for what you ordered. That is the part of the application people otherwise pay to have drawn.
What we cannot do is submit it, or promise an outcome. The application is yours, and the decision is your council's.
| Comes with the kit | Your side | |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer-rated plans | Included | — |
| Span tables | Included | — |
| Footing details | Included | Digging and concreting them |
| Site plan | — | Yours, showing your boundaries |
| The application | — | Lodged by you, with your council |
| Fees | — | Set by your council |
04
Things that make approval harder
None of these stop a project, but each is worth knowing before you order rather than after.
- Building close to a boundary, which usually gets more attention
- Anything that changes stormwater — a roof has to put its water somewhere legal
- Heritage or character overlays, which can affect what the front of the house may look like
- Structures over easements or services
Council approval questions
Does a carport need approval?
Often yes, even without a solid roof, because approval usually turns on the structure and its setbacks rather than on whether it keeps rain off. Check with your council before you assume an open roof exempts it.
How long does approval take?
It varies by council and by how complete the application is. Sending everything they ask for the first time is the single biggest thing you control.
Do you lodge the application for me?
No. The kit comes with the engineer-rated plans and span tables the application needs, but lodging it is yours to do, and the decision belongs to your local government.
What if I build without approval?
Councils can require an unapproved structure to be certified retrospectively or removed, and it can complicate selling the house. It is a genuinely bad gamble for the sake of one phone call.
Next step
Kits that come with the council paperwork
Engineer-rated plans and span tables for the structure you ordered, in the pack. Send your span and we will tell you exactly what you will have to hand your council.