New Britain, CT Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

New Britain's Zoning Ordinance treats a private garage, garden shed, playhouse or greenhouse as an ACCESSORY BUILDING under Section 30-20-10, and Section 230-10-10.10 requires any detached accessory building, including a garage connected only by a breezeway, to sit at least 10 feet from the main dwelling unless it is part of a group building development covered by Section 230-60. Section 230-10-10.30 bars placing an accessory building in a required front yard or a required side yard, so a shed can only go in the rear yard or a non-required portion of a side yard.

Once in the rear yard, the ordinance's per-district dimensional table caps how much of that yard the structure can occupy. In the S-1 District (13,500-square-foot single-family lots), Section 60-40-80 limits rear-yard coverage to 25 percent, accessory-building height to 15 feet, and the setback from the rear yard boundary to a minimum of 8 feet. The S-2 District (8,000-square-foot lots) carries the identical 25 percent coverage and 15-foot height cap under Section 70-40-80, but only requires a 3-foot rear setback, reflecting its tighter lot dimensions.

Before construction starts, Section 280-100-20 requires a Certificate of Zoning Compliance for erection and construction of an accessory structure, including garages, fences, decks, signs, pools and other accessory structures, reviewed by the Zoning Enforcement Officer. That certificate must be obtained before the Building Official issues a Certificate of Occupancy, pursuant to Section 8-3(f) of the Connecticut General Statutes. If the application misrepresents facts or the finished structure doesn't match what was approved, Section 280-100-40 lets the Zoning Enforcement Officer revoke the certificate until the accessory building is brought back into compliance.