Rescode is legislation made by the Victorian Government that was created to prescribe requirements for the siting and design of dwellings and associated buildings.

The Building Regulations 1994 set out these requirements within Part 4 of the Regulations and the following is a basic overview of the Regulations.

A building must not be setback from the front boundary more than one-third of the depth of the allotment.

A building must be setback from the street boundary not less than the distance specified in respect of that boundary:

Adjoining Development	Minimum setback from front street	Minimum setback from side street
Existing dwellings on adjoining allotments facing the same street	The average distance of the setbacks of the front walls of the existing buildings on the adjoining allotments facing the front street, or 9m, whichever is the lesser	Not Applicable
No existing dwellings on adjoining allotments facing the same street	6m for a building facing a declared road. 4m in respect of others streets	Not Applicable
Corner Allotment Existing dwellings on adjoining allotments facing the same street	The average distance of the setbacks of the front walls of the existing buildings on the adjoining allotments facing the front street, or 9m, whichever is the lesser	If there is a building on the adjoining allotment facing the same street, the same distance as the setback of the front wall of the existing building on the adjoining allotment facing the side street or 2m, whichever is lesser.
Corner Allotment No existing dwellings on adjoining allotments facing the same street	6m for a building facing a declared road. 4m in respect of others streets	In any other case 2m

The following may encroach into the setback distance required by sub-regulation (1) by not more than 2.5 meters:

(a) porches, verandahs and pergolas that have a maximum height of less than 3.6m above natural ground level;

(b) eaves, fascia and gutters;

(c) sunblinds and shade sails.

The height of a building must not exceed:

(a) 10 meters if the slope of the natural ground level at any cross section wider than 8m of the building site of the building is 2.5° or more; and

(b) 9 meters in any other case.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

If a building is to be constructed an allotment, not more than 80% of the area of the allotment can be covered by impermeable surfaces. If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

Buildings must not occupy more than 60% of an allotment. Unroofed swimming pools, unroofed terraces and eaves may be disregarded when calculating site coverage. If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

If a new dwelling is to be constructed on an allotment, provision must be made for 2 car parking spaces on the allotment.

Of the 2 car parking spaces:

(a) one space must be at least 6 meters long and 3.5 meters wide; and

(b) the second space must be at least 4.9 metres long and 2.6 metres wide.

A building may project into a car parking space if it is at least 2.1 meters above that space.

If the 2 required car parking spaces adjoin each other in a garage or carport or in a space constrained by walls, the double space may be 5.5 meters in width.

An alteration to a building on an allotment must not be reduced the number of car parking spaces on the allotment unless there are more than 2 in which case the number may be reduced to 2.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

A building must be setback from the side and rear boundary not less than the distance specified in respect of that boundary as below:

Building Height	Minimum setback from side and rear boundary at that point
3.6 meters	1 meter
More than 3.6 meters but not more than 6.9 meters	1 meter plus an additional distance calculated at the rate of 300mm for every meter of height over 3.6 meters
More than 6.9 meters	2 meters plus an additional distance calculated at a rate of 1 meter for every meter of height over 6.9 meters.

The following may encroach into the setback distance required in the table above by not more than 500mm:

(a) porches, verandas, eaves, fascia and gutters;
(b) masonry chimneys;
(c) sunblinds;
(d) flues and pipes;
(e) domestic fuel tanks and water tanks;
(f) heating and cooling equipment and other services.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

 

(a) A new wall on or within 150mm of a side or rear boundary; and/or

(b) A new carport on or within 1 meter of a side or rear boundary of an allotment;

Must not, either by itself or when combined with the length of any existing wall or carport, be greater than;

(i) 10 meters plus 25% of the remaining length of the boundary of the allotment; or
(ii) the length of any wall or carport constructed on an adjoining allotment which is within 150mm of the boundary of that allotment.

A wall or carport constructed within 150mm of a side or rear boundary of an allotment must not exceed an average height of 3 meters and a maximum height of 3.6 meters along the boundary.

If a wall or carport abuts an existing wall it may be constructed to the same height as that wall.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

The following applies if a building is to be constructed on an allotment and north facing habitable room window of an existing dwelling on an adjoining allotment is within 3m of a boundary of the allotment on which the building is to be constructed, and the window is orientated towards the boundary.

The proposed building must be setback from the boundary not less than that shown below;

Building Height at ant point	Minimum setback from side and rear boundary at that point
3.6 meters or less	1 meter
More than 3.6 meters but not more than 6.9 meters	1 meter plus an additional distance calculated at a rate of 600mm for every meter of height over 3.6m
More than 6.9 meters	3.0 meters plus an additional distance calculated at the rate of 1 meter of height over 6.9 meters

 

North facing windows are windows with an axis perpendicular to its surface oriented north 20° west to north 30° east.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

A building constructed on an allotment must not reduce the sunlight to a secluded private open space of an existing dwelling on an adjoining allotment to the extent that less than the minimum area of the secluded private open space has less than 5 hours of sunlight between 9am and 3pm on 22nd September.

If a building is to be constructed on an allotment and the existing amount of sunlight to a secluded private open space on an adjoining allotment is less than the amount required above, the amount of sunlight to that area must not be further reduced by the construction of the building.

If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.

The required minimum area of a secluded private open space is the lesser of:

(a) 75% of the secluded open space; and

(b) 40m² with a minimum dimension of 3 metres.

A habitable room window or raised open space of a building on an allotment must not provide a direct line of sight into the secluded open space or a habitable room window of an existing dwelling on an adjoining allotment within a horizontal distance of 9 metres (measured at ground level) of the window or raised open space.

The direct line of site referred to must be measured with a 45° angle from the plane of window or perimeter of the raised open space and from height of 1.7 metres above the floor level of the habitable room or raised open space.

A habitable room window complies if:

(a) it is offset a minimum of 1.5 metres from the edge of one window to the edge of the other; or
(b) it has a sill height at least 1.7 metres above floor level; or

(c) it has obscure glazing at any part of the window below 1.7 metres above floor level; or

(d) it is obscured by a permanent and fixed screen which has no more than 25% of its area open.

A raised open space complies if the direct line of sight into the habitable room window or secluded private open space on the adjoining allotment is obscured by a permanent and fixed screen which has no more than 25% of its area open.

A window referred to above may be openable provided that when open the obscure glazing does not permit a direct line of sight into secluded private open space or habitable room window.
This does not apply to a new habitable room window that faces a property boundary if:

(a) there is a visual barrier at least 1.8 metres high at the boundary; and

(b) the floor level of the room is less than 800mm above ground level at the boundary.

A raised open space as indicated above means;

(a) a landing with an area more than 2m² and with a floor height of 800mm or more above natural ground level at the boundary; or

(b) a balcony, terrace, deck or patio with a floor height of 800mm or more above natural ground level at the boundary.

 If the design does not comply with this a consent and report of the relevant council will be required.