New York County, NY Accessory Structures: Carport Rules (2026)

Manhattan is one of the five boroughs that make up the consolidated City of New York; New York County is its coterminous county. There is no independent county building department — the NYC Department of Buildings administers all construction codes through Title 28 of the NYC Administrative Code (the Construction Codes), the 2022 NYC Building Code, and the Rules of the City of New York (1 RCNY). A carport — a roofed structure used to shelter a motor vehicle — is treated as a building element and, when attached to a 1- or 2-family dwelling, falls under residential accessory rules in NYC Zoning Resolution Section 22-12 and the yard regulations of Section 23-44. In R1 through R5 districts, accessory carports must observe the same front, side, and rear-yard setbacks as the principal building unless explicitly listed as a permitted obstruction in 23-44. Most of Manhattan is zoned for medium- and high-density residential, commercial, and mixed-use districts where surface parking is not a permitted accessory use, so freestanding residential carports are functionally non-existent. Construction in any zone requires a DOB-issued permit under NYC Admin. Code Sec. 28-105.1; the limited permit-exempt category for minor work in 1 RCNY Sec. 101-14 does not exempt roofed parking structures. Confirm specific lot rules with NYC DOB at 311 (or 212-639-9675 from outside NYC).