Design codes · rule packs
Check a design against the code that applies to it
Plotlay checks a drawn house and site against the residential rules people most often ask about: setbacks, site coverage, height, private open space, landscaping, fences, sheds, car parking and room sizes. Pick the codes for your site, enter the few facts a drawing can’t hold, and every rule comes back PASS, WARN, FAIL or UNKNOWN, with its clause and a link to the source.
Codes that come with Plotlay
| Where | Packs |
|---|---|
| South Australia | Planning and Design Code (General Neighbourhood Zone) |
| New South Wales | Housing Code (complying development); exempt development (sheds, decks, carports, fences) |
| Victoria | ResCode (Clauses 54 and 55) and the Building Regulations 2018 siting rules |
| Queensland | Queensland Housing Code and the 2010 QDC MP 1.1 and MP 1.2, by council |
| Western Australia | Residential Design Codes Volume 1, by R-Code |
| Tasmania | Tasmanian Planning Scheme, General Residential Zone |
| ACT | Territory Plan 2023 and exempt development |
| Australia | National Construction Code housing notes; Livable Housing Design (both indicative) |
| New Zealand | Building Act Schedule 1 exemptions; Medium Density Residential Standards; Building Code notes (indicative); a district plan template |
| England | Householder permitted development (extensions, outbuildings, fences) |
| Ireland | Exempted development (extensions, sheds, walls and fences), with the July 2026 changes |
| United States | International Residential Code notes (indicative); a zoning template |
| Canada | National Building Code Part 9 notes (indicative) |
| Anywhere | Accessibility basics (indicative) |
Plotlay suggests the codes from the site’s address. Where a code depends on a zone, a density or a height you know and the drawing doesn’t, it asks for it, and reports UNKNOWN until you enter it. It never guesses a number.
Your own rules, as a template
Not every rule is a code. An estate’s design guidelines, body corporate by-laws, a client brief, a council’s local policy or your firm’s standards can be a template of checks: “front setback at least 6.0 m, give or take 0.2”, “bedrooms at least 9.5 m²”, “doors 820 mm clear”. Start blank, from a starter (estate guidelines, body corporate, client brief, accessibility, office fit-out), or copy a built-in code and change its numbers. Save it to your library or your team’s and use it on every project. Reports say when a pack is your own template rather than an official code.
The same version, every time
A project keeps the version of each code it was checked against. When a code changes, Plotlay tells you a newer version is there; your project moves to it only when you choose. Every compliance report lists the codes and versions it used.
Councils and consultants: publish your rules
A rule pack is a short JSON, YAML or CSV file: each rule with its clause, the figure, and a link to your document. Anyone can import it into a project. Read the pack format.
With an AI agent
An AI agent connected to Plotlay can read a council guideline or a covenant and build the pack: each rule with its clause and source. Rules an agent enters are marked for review until a person confirms them, and reports say “Includes rules entered by an AI agent and not yet reviewed.” Connect an agent.