Birmingham, AL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- R-1 max height
- 35 feet
- R-4A max height
- 35 feet
- MXD Residential Group 3
- 75 feet
- MXD/E commercial
- Up to 75 feet
- Variance path
- Zoning Board of Adjustment
Summary
Birmingham caps most residential buildings at 35 feet under the Zoning Ordinance's district tables, from R-1 Single-Family through the R-4A Medium Density Residential District, where the height limit sits inside the same table that also fixes minimum lot area per dwelling unit and required yards for two-family, semi-attached, and small multifamily buildings.
Subsection 3.Area and dimensional regulations. Except as provided in articles VI and VIII, the area and dimensional regulations set forth in the following table shall be observed: Maximum Height of Structure [in] Feet | Minimum Yards | Minimum Side Yards | Minimum Lot Area Per Family | Minimum Lot Width Front | Rear | One side | Total (both sides) 35 feet | 25 feet | 25 feet | 5 feet | 14 feet | 5,000 square feet for single-family dwellings. | 50 feet except that in attached and semi-attached dwellings the minimum is 18 feet, with an average of 20 feet in an attached row.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
The R-4A Medium Density Residential District's area and dimensional table, Subsection 3 of Article I, Section 6, sets the same 35-foot maximum structure height that governs Birmingham's other close-in residential districts, alongside a 25-foot front yard, 25-foot rear yard, 5-foot side yard (14 feet total), a 5,000-square-foot minimum lot for a single-family dwelling, and a 50-foot minimum lot width that drops to 18 feet for attached or semi-attached dwellings. That same 35-foot ceiling appears in the R-1 Single-Family District's table, so a homeowner in either zone is capped at the same maximum height even though R-1 demands a much bigger lot.
1 sets Residential Use Groups 1 and 2 at a 35-foot maximum height and Residential Use Group 3, the district's higher-density housing category, at 75 feet, while commercial buildings in the same MXD/E subarea can reach 75 feet as well. Every district table opens with the same qualifier, that the figures apply except as provided in articles VI and VIII, which is how a taller structure gets approved: through a Zoning Board of Adjustment variance or a supplementary regulation elsewhere in the ordinance, not by simply building over the printed number.
Violations & Fines
Height limits are enforced the same way as every other Zoning Ordinance standard, through the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits under Article VII, which reviews the scaled building plans required before a permit issues. A structure built taller than its district allows is a Code violation punishable under Sec. 1-1-6's general penalty: a fine up to $500.00, up to six months in jail or at hard labor, or both, with each day of the violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can I build a house in Birmingham?
Is the height limit different in mixed-use areas?
Can I build taller than 35 feet with a variance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Birmingham
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Structure Height Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle structure height limits.