Does a garage count toward FAR in Austin? (Garage vs. carport)

Last verified August 5, 2026 against the Austin Land Development Code · KiliGray Homes

Covered parking counts toward Austin floor area except for up to 450 sq ft of rear parking set at least 10 feet back, or parking open on two or more sides. A separate 200 sq ft applies to a garage close behind the house. You cannot stack them to 650 — that route now requires an accessible-space requirement a house does not have.

Applies to: Single-dwelling lots of 5,750 sq ft or larger inside the Subchapter F boundary. Multi-unit projects use §25-2-773, where gross floor area is total ENCLOSED area — enclosed garages count and open carports do not, with no 450/200 exemptions at all.

Exemption	Amount	Qualifying condition
Detached rear parking	450 sq ft	Separated from the principal structure by not less than 10 feet
Open-sided parking	450 sq ft	Open on two or more sides, with no habitable space above it
Attached parking	200 sq ft	Only if used to meet the minimum accessible spaces requirement — a house has none
Garage close behind the house	200 sq ft	Less than 10 feet from the rear of the principal structure, detached or breezeway-attached
What a house can plan on	450 sq ft	Not 650 — stacking requires an accessible-space requirement a house does not have

The 450 sq ft exemption is available once per site — you cannot claim it for both a detached garage and an open carport. The 200 sq ft attached allowance is shown because it is still in the code, but see below.

What the code says

Subject to the limitations in paragraph C below, the following parking areas and structures are excluded from gross floor area for purposes of this Subchapter:

A. Up to 450 square feet of:
1. A detached rear parking area that is separated from the principal structure by not less than 10 feet;
2. A rear parking area that is 10 feet or more from the principal structure, provided that the parking area is either: a. detached from the principal structure; or b. attached by a covered breezeway that is completely open on all sides, with a walkway not exceeding 6 feet in width and a roof not exceeding 8 feet in width; or
3. A parking area that is open on two or more sides, if: i. it does not have habitable space above it; and ii. the open sides are clear and unobstructed for at least 80% of the area measured below the top of the wall plate to the finished floor of the carport.

B. Up to 200 square feet of:
1. An attached parking area if it used to meet the minimum accessible spaces requirement; or
2. A garage that is less than 10 feet from the rear of the principal structure, provided that the garage is either: a. detached from the principal structure; or b. attached by a covered breezeway that is completely open on all sides…

C. An applicant may receive only one 450-square foot exemption per site under paragraph A. An applicant who receives a 450-square foot exemption may receive an additional 200-foot exemption for the same site under paragraph B, but only for an attached parking area used to meet the minimum accessible spaces requirement.

Austin Land Development Code · Read the full code

The other 200 sq ft: a garage close behind the house

§3.3.2.B has a second route that has nothing to do with accessible spaces, and it is easy to miss: a garage less than 10 feet from the rear of the principal structure, provided it is detached, or attached only by a covered breezeway that is completely open on all sides (walkway no more than 6 feet wide, roof no more than 8 feet wide).

Note how it sits against paragraph A. The 450 sq ft route wants the parking at least 10 feet away. This 200 sq ft route wants it less than 10 feet away. They are alternatives for opposite site layouts, not a pair to be combined.

In practice you would take the 450 where the lot allows it. The 200 sq ft matters on tight lots where pushing the garage a full ten feet off the house costs more buildable depth than the extra exemption is worth.

Garage vs. carport — where the line actually falls

The code does not use the words "garage" and "carport". It describes physical conditions, and the conditions are what review applies:

Detached and 10+ feet away. A detached rear structure separated from the house by at least ten feet qualifies for the 450 sq ft exemption — enclosed or not.
Open on two or more sides, nothing habitable above. This is the classic carport. It qualifies for the same 450 sq ft even when attached — but put a bedroom over it and the exemption is gone.

So the useful question is not "is this a garage or a carport?" It is: how many sides are open, how far is it from the house, and is there habitable space above it. The distinction between the two labels is precisely what has generated recurring disputes, because a structure can look like one and satisfy the conditions of the other.

Stacking the two: how 650 sq ft works

The two exemptions are cumulative. §3.3.1.C.1 and C.2 are separate carve-outs, and nothing in the text makes them mutually exclusive.

On its face a site could take a detached rear garage (450 sq ft) plus attached parking serving the minimum requirement (200 sq ft) and remove 650 sq ft from the count. In practice the second half of that has become unavailable — see below.

The 450 sq ft is also one per site. A detached garage and a separate open carport do not get 450 each.

Why you can no longer stack to 650 sq ft

Paragraph C is the limiting rule. You get one 450 sq ft exemption per site. If you take it, you may add a 200 sq ft exemption on top — but only for "an attached parking area used to meet the minimum accessible spaces requirement."

That wording changed in 2023. The clause used to read "minimum parking requirement"; the parking ordinance struck "parking" and inserted "accessible spaces". It is a small edit with a large consequence.

A single-family house carries no accessible-space requirement, so it cannot satisfy that route. For a house, 650 sq ft is not reachable — plan on 450.

Two things follow that are worth knowing. First, a neighbourhood that kept its own parking minimum does not revive this: the condition no longer references parking minimums at all. Second, commercial projects that do carry a required number of accessible spaces can still use the route.

How this shapes a plan

Parking placement is one of the few decisions that changes your buildable square footage without changing the house. Moving a garage to the rear of the lot and detaching it by ten feet can be worth 450 sq ft of living space at the front.

On the narrow infill lots we build on in Central Austin, that trade is usually worth making — though it costs driveway length, which then argues with impervious cover. These limits are all in tension with each other, which is why we solve them together rather than in sequence.

Common questions

Does an attached garage count toward FAR in Austin?

In practice yes, all of it. The code exempts up to 200 sq ft of attached parking, but only if it is used to meet the minimum parking requirement — and Austin no longer has one. Detach the structure and put it at the rear instead and you get 450 sq ft.

How far from the house must a detached garage be?

Not less than 10 feet. §3.3.1.C.1.a requires a detached rear parking area to be separated from the principal structure by at least ten feet to claim the 450 sq ft exemption.

Can I get the 450 sq ft exemption twice on one site?

No. The 450 sq ft exemption is available once per site, whether it is claimed for a detached rear structure or for open-sided parking.

Does a room above the garage break the exemption?

For the open-sided carve-out, yes — §3.3.1.C.1.b requires that the parking area not have habitable space above it. The detached-rear route does not carry that condition, but the habitable space itself still counts as floor area.

Working out what you can build?

We build in Central Austin and deal with this code on every project. If you own a lot and want a straight answer about what fits on it, we're happy to take a look.

Talk to us about your lot

We are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.