Planning
Stand size and coverage calculator
This calculator converts a stand size between square metres, hectares, acres and square feet, and then works out how much of it a house can cover. Enter the stand by its sides or by its area, the coverage your council allows and the building lines (the setbacks from each boundary), and it gives you the largest footprint the stand can take and the floor area that allows on one or two storeys.
What you need
This calculator works out the figures in your browser, which needs JavaScript switched on. The method below shows how to work it out by hand.
Estimates for planning and budgeting. Real quantities depend on the site and the workmanship, so check with your builder before you order.
Coverage limits and building lines are set by the local authority and vary between councils, suburbs and densities, so the defaults here are only a starting point. The figures on your title deed conditions or from the council's planning department are the ones that count.
What a stand can physically hold is not the same as what will be approved. If you are deciding whether to buy, a site capacity study checks the stand properly before you commit.
How it is worked out
- Conversions: 1 hectare = 10,000 m²; 1 acre = 4,046.86 m²; 1 m² = 10.764 ft².
- Coverage footprint = stand area × coverage %.
- Buildable envelope = (length − front − rear) × (width − 2 × side).
- The largest footprint is the smaller of the two; floor area doubles for a double-storey house.
What it assumes
- A rectangular stand. Irregular stands need a survey diagram.
- Servitudes, slopes and existing buildings are not allowed for.
Common questions
How many square metres is an acre?
4,046.86 m², so a 2,000 m² stand is about half an acre.
How big a house can I build on a 300 m² stand?
At 50% coverage, a footprint of up to 150 m², before building lines; a double-storey design roughly doubles the floor area. Check your council's figures.
What is a building line?
The minimum distance a building must be set back from a boundary, set by the council or the title conditions.
Want exact quantities for your plan?
A calculator works one wall or one slab at a time. A bill of quantities works from your actual drawings and counts everything, which is what builders price against and what stops you buying twice.