How close to the property line can I build?
No single distance applies across Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Pulaski, Montgomery and Floyd counties or Galax, and the published distances start from different lines. Buildings in a Carroll County subdivision stay 15 feet from the lot boundary, Grayson's zoning permit asks for 10 feet from adjoining lines, Pulaski's Agricultural district requires 20 feet at the side, Montgomery's A-1 district 15 feet, and Floyd lists 5 feet for residential building.
Six counties' published distances, and the line each one measures from
| Locality | From the road | From side and rear lines | Measured from | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County, buildings in a subdivision | 35 feet | 15 feet | The adjacent edge of any street; the boundary of the lot | Subdivision Ordinance, posted 2014 text |
| Carroll County, plats where every lot exceeds five acres | 35 feet | 15 feet | The road right of way; side and back lot lines | A note the same ordinance requires on the plat |
| Grayson County | 35 feet | 10 feet | The centerline of the public road; all adjoining property lines | Zoning Permit Form 0100 |
| Wythe County (plan summary) | 35 feet front | 10 feet side and back | Streets, for the front line | Comprehensive plan's summary of the 2012 subdivision ordinance |
| Pulaski County, Agricultural (A) district | 35 feet front | 20 feet side, 35 feet rear | Not named in the district table | Unified Development Ordinance, July 2025 |
| Montgomery County, A-1 Agricultural District | 40 feet front | 15 feet side for each principal structure, 40 feet rear | Not named in the A-1 yard rules | Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 10-21 |
| Floyd County | 35 feet from the edge of roadways, and 60 feet from the center of the road | 5 feet from structures and property lines, residential only | The roadway edge, the road center and the property lines | Floyd County Building Inspections page |
| Town of Hillsville and City of Galax | No figure on this page | No figure on this page | Not stated here | Ask the Town's zoning administrator or the Galax Zoning Administrator |
Read down the measuring column before the distance column. A setback is only as meaningful as the line it starts from, and in this table the same 35 feet starts from the adjacent edge of a street, the centerline of a road or a road right of way line, depending on the county and the document.
The variety follows from the statute. Va. Code 15.2-2279 lets any locality regulate the building of houses, including minimum setbacks, side yards and minimum lot sizes; the optional 35-foot road distance the same section offers, and the towns it does not reach, are explained in the setback entry. Carroll County's subdivision ordinance also stops at incorporated town limits, so inside Hillsville the question goes to the Town's zoning administrator, and Galax, an independent city, has its own Zoning Administrator.
Thirty-five feet from a road centerline puts the house nearer the road than thirty-five from the street edge
A centerline runs down the middle of the road. A street edge sits out at its side, and a right of way line marks the outer boundary of the strip of land held for the road, which can lie beyond the pavement. Measure the same distance from each and the house lands in three different places.
That is why Grayson's 35 feet and Carroll's 35 feet are not the same rule. Grayson's zoning permit form asks whether the structure will be at least 35 feet from the centerline of the public road. Carroll's subdivision ordinance keeps buildings 35 feet from the adjacent edge of any street. Carroll's own text then uses a second line: its definition of setback runs from a street right of way or the boundary of adjacent property, and the note it requires on plats where every lot exceeds five acres gives 35 feet from the road right of way. Which line a Carroll permit measures from on a given lot is a question for Carroll County Land Use and Planning.
Floyd County's Building Inspections page lists both kinds of road distance, 35 feet from the edge of roadways, state maintained and private, and 60 feet from the center of the road, and it lists 5 feet from structures and property lines for residential building only. How the two road figures apply to a particular frontage is for Floyd's building office to say.
Rules that add a line or change one
- Pulaski County. Every zoning district adds a 10-foot setback from VDOT limited access areas. A property fronting Claytor Lake, the New River, or Peak Creek between Interstate 81 and Claytor Lake may reduce the setback to 25 feet from the property line immediately adjacent to the water.
- Montgomery County A-1. Accessory buildings may sit 10 feet from a side or rear lot line, closer than the 15-foot side and 40-foot rear yards set for each principal structure, and buildings may cover no more than 20 percent of a lot.
- Carroll County scope. Carroll's ordinance considers any division of a lot or parcel to be a subdivision, so a lot created by dividing land outside the towns falls under its building distances. A subdivision fully surveyed with a plat recorded before July 1, 2009 is outside the ordinance except for later alterations, and the county's Administrator decides on request whether and how far an older subdivision is subject.
Turning a row in the table into a line you can stand on
The table tells you which document to read. It cannot tell you where the house fits on your own lot, because that takes three more things: the parcel's own governing rules, the lines on its recorded plat, and the corners found on the ground.
Confirm the rulebook for the parcel
In a zoned county the district decides the numbers; Grayson, for one, points owners to its WebGIS to find a parcel's official district. In an unzoned county it is the subdivision ordinance and the building permit. The office to call in each locality is on the page covering the six counties and the City of Galax.
Read the recorded plat
A plat can carry its own setback line or a note. In a Carroll County subdivision where every lot exceeds five acres, the plat need not draw the setback line on each lot and carries a note stating the setback instead.
Find the lines on the ground
A setback measured from a property line needs that line located. That is the work of a boundary survey, done by a land surveyor, not a job for a fence row or an old stake.
Carry the numbers to the permit
The permit application is where a county asks about the distances; Grayson's zoning permit form, for one, asks them outright. Which permits a new house needs, and in what order, is covered in the permits you need to build a house in Virginia.
What is left inside every setback, after the drainfield site and anything the plat reserves are taken out, is the space the house can actually use. How those limits combine is the subject of how setbacks and plat limits shape the buildable area of a lot, and the term itself is defined under building envelope.
Trying to work out where the house can sit on your lot?
Send the county and the parcel, and Lowell will point you to the setback document that governs it and the line it measures from. No cost, no obligation.
Got it. Thank you.
We'll be in touch shortly with an honest read.
Questions this raises
Does a detached garage or shed have to sit as far from the line as the house?
Not in every locality. Montgomery County's A-1 district sets a separate figure: accessory buildings may sit 10 feet from a side or rear lot line, while each principal structure keeps 15 feet at the side. Carroll County's subdivision ordinance applies its 35-foot and 15-foot distances to all buildings built in a subdivision. For an accessory building anywhere else, ask the county planning or building office before you pour a slab.
Can a lot on Claytor Lake or the New River build closer to the water?
In Pulaski County it can. The Unified Development Ordinance lets a property fronting Claytor Lake, the New River, or Peak Creek between Interstate 81 and Claytor Lake reduce the setback to 25 feet from the property line immediately adjacent to the water. That provision belongs to Pulaski; none of the other localities' rules cited on this page carries a comparable reduction, so ask the county where the lot sits.
Can a house in Montgomery County's A-1 district need more than the 40-foot front yard?
It can. The A-1 district's 40-foot front yard carries a note to refer to additional setback requirements pertaining to residential uses near intensive agricultural operations. Those added requirements are not set out on this page, so for a lot near an intensive agricultural operation in Montgomery's A-1 district, ask Montgomery County Planning and GIS Services before the house is placed.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 15.2-2279, localities may regulate building of houses and setbacks Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-703, residential property disclosure statement Virginia General Assembly
- Subdivision Ordinance, amended through April 14, 2014 Carroll County, Virginia
- Land Use and Planning Carroll County, Virginia
- Local Government Directory Town of Hillsville
- Zoning Permit Form 0100 Grayson County, Virginia
- Zoning Grayson County, Virginia
- Comprehensive Plan Wythe County, Virginia
- Planning Department Wythe County, Virginia
- Unified Development Ordinance, July 2025 Pulaski County, Virginia
- Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 10-21 A-1 Agricultural District Montgomery County, Virginia
- Building Inspections Floyd County, Virginia
- Zoning and land development City of Galax
- Va. Code 55.1-701: the Residential Property Disclosure Act applies to one to four dwelling units Virginia General Assembly