If you’re buying a home, your real estate agent can help you locate the setback requirements. These requirements control the distance any structure on the property must be from the road, or from a natural feature, or from the boundaries between owners’ properties. Setbacks can also restrict the height of structures on a given property.
One thing a buyer would like to avoid is a home with setback violations. And who wants to buy a home with setback restrictions that would rule out the buyer’s own future plans to build, say, a cottage or toolshed?
If a structure on the property does turn out to violate a setback restriction, you might ask, then what? Will the restriction be enforced?
Setbacks are generally created through local building codes and ordinances, and enforced by the local town government.
Or there might be a homeowners’ association (HOA) governing the home’s setback restrictions.
If so, the prospective buyer should take a look at the private covenants and restrictions and take note of how they’re enforced.
The buyer should also review the property title to learn of any private restrictions (“agreements” or “covenants”) that limit construction, impose stricter setback rules than town ordinances do, limit the number, sizes and types of allowable improvements, and other rules pertaining to boundaries and fences.
What the buyer should never do is ignore the setback restriction. The consequences can be expensive. Homeowners who flout restrictions could be told to take down the structure. That can come as a major blow, after all the work and money the homeowner put into the improvement.
If something is built over the setback line, you might be directed to move or modify that part of the home or addition.
Go to the local building department, and you could learn that your property’s feature is grandfathered in. Still, watch out. You might be OK moving in with the feature as it is, but if you remodel later, the city or HOA might request compliance at that time.
The town zoning board may, upon the homeowner’s request, issue a variance. A variance allows the work to go ahead. A local zoning board could decide to work with a homeowner on what appears to be a harmless improvement.
Maybe you have an oddly shaped lot, for example. There could be a range of reasons the setback shouldn’t hold you back from doing what you want with the property.
A homeowner might need to go through a public hearing to get a variance. Hearings are set up to let interested neighbors have their say.
It’s common for towns to approve requests to install things like balconies, decks, fences, and patios. These might need to spill over the restricted areas somewhat, but don’t cause problems for the neighborhood. They might even enhance local property values.
What if an HOA is involved? Find out if the association’s records include a history of allowances for unit owners’ restrictions to be waived or violated without issue. Do past examples of the variance you want already exists in the records? Your local building or zoning department should be able to produce these.
In any case, the homeowner should go to the local permit office with the plans and prepare to get approval for the work. Otherwise, there is the chance that the project will have to be redone or undone.
If the request does not succeed, the homeowner needs to change plans. Perhaps the home can be expanded by building up, or by finishing a basement.
Setbacks, at their best, let people live close together but not under each other’s noses. They can help people live safely and comfortably, by:
Setbacks can also deter the spread of fire or damage from debris in weather events.
Setbacks influence the layout of U.S. suburbs. They tend to promote front lawns (along with landscaping companies). At the same time, they discourage density.
Zoning ordinances can be changed. So can building codes. Today’s housing shortage and our growing awareness of environmental issues are changing suburban priorities.
One rising example? Homeowners’ interest in building backyard cottages. Allowing homeowners to install backyard housing units may put buildings closer to streets, but it can also lessen the need for new construction. And if a town can lessen its need for construction, it can build fewer concrete surfaces that worsen stormwater runoff problems.
In many towns across the country, accessory living spaces are becoming increasingly important.
Federal policy is also driving change, by promoting more residential structures on parcels of land. In short, upzoning policies are on the rise.
Cities are now holding policy meetings to hash out ways to modify setback restrictions to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs), in the interest of promoting affordable housing.
Helpfully, the setback rules that already exist in some neighborhoods can support an owner’s desire to build an extra structure. The setback restrictions that apply to the main house might be stricter than those which apply to accessory buildings. That’s because the main house has a lot more potential to block someone’s sunlight or to have a detrimental impact on ecological features.
Setbacks are, at least in theory, a benefit to residential property holders. They offer comfort, privacy, and safety to homeowners.
That’s all true, to an extent. But sometimes they’re old rules and don’t fit today’s needs. And they can certainly be troublesome for the buyer who has plans to improve a property after buying it.
If you’re buying a home and hope to improve the property, look out for setbacks. And it’s good to be sure nothing’s already built on a setback, so you don’t have any disputes later on. It’s good to know what the local regulations say, as well as what deed restrictions might impact your use and enjoyment of your home.
Need case-specific advice on setbacks or other restrictions? This website offers general knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. Seek a local real estate lawyer or law firm to guide you.
Supporting References
Erin Flaherty for the National Association of Realtors® via Realtor.com®: Raise the Roof (or Build Out Back) – Home Addition Costs by Room (Mar. 29, 2022).
Photo credits: Peter Griffin, via PublicDomainPictures.net (released with zero restrictions as CC0 Public Domain); Joice Rivas, via Pexels.
