Birmingham, AL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance sets a separate area-and-dimensional table for each residential district, and the numbers shrink as the district gets denser. R-1 Single-Family, the largest-lot tier, requires a 40-foot front yard, a 40-foot rear yard, an 8-foot side yard on each side (18 feet combined), a minimum lot of 15,000 square feet, and a minimum lot width of 90 feet, all under a 35-foot maximum structure height. R-2 Single-Family relaxes those figures to a 30-foot front yard, 35-foot rear yard, 7-foot side yards (16 feet total), a 10,000-square-foot lot, and 75-foot width, still capped at 35 feet in height.

Every district's table appears in its own Subsection 3, titled 'Area and dimensional regulations,' and each begins with the same qualifier: the figures apply except as provided in articles VI and VIII, meaning a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment or a specific supplementary-regulation exception can still change the number for an individual lot. Before a building permit is issued, Article VII, Subsection 2 requires the applicant to submit a scaled plat showing the exact location and dimensions of the proposed structure on the lot, which the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits checks against the applicable district's setback table before construction can begin.

A homeowner who wants to build closer to a lot line than the table allows has to seek relief from the Zoning Board of Adjustment rather than simply building to a different number.