Can you add a driveway to your house without council approval? One homeowner in Melbourne has discovered a clever way to get around the headache of planning permits ... but the solution is not without its flaws.
The house, located in the inner-city suburb of Richmond, features an off-street parking space, but has a driveway that abruptly ends at the footpath.
What's missing is the sloped pathway that typically runs over a footpath and connects a driveway to the road – a feature commonly known as a "crossover" or "crossing".
Instead, the driveway leads to a regular footpath and kerb, where other motorists are seemingly able to park their cars, effectively blocking the homeowner in.
This then begs the question: what happens if the homeowner wants to go out and someone has parked over their makeshift "driveway"?
When Drive contacted the City of Yarra council to see if this was, in fact, a legitimate driveway, a spokesperson said: "I’ve confirmed the image shows no legal point of access to the property, so vehicles are able to park there."
In summary: A stranger has parked across your driveway? Too bad – you're not going anywhere.
Logistical challenges aside, it's understandable that a homeowner would want to add an off-street park to their property, given it can significantly increase the value of your home.
In fact, real estate sales data shows that having a dedicated parking space can add between $50,000-100,000 to the value of your home – or more.
Melbourne buyer's advocate Cate Bakos highlighted two houses sold in late 2025, located with 500 metres of each other in the same suburb, with similar floor plans and land sizes, explaining:
"The house with the option for car parking on title sold for $280,000 more than the house without the car parking option on title. That equates to a 23 per cent premium."
If the mere inclusion of a parking space could see you pocket a quarter of a million dollars, it might be worth the hassle.
The challenge remains that the council approval process can be lengthy, and certain homes will struggle to get approval for a driveway crossover at all.
For example, in certain heritage areas in Melbourne, council policy requires vehicle access to be provided from the rear, not the front, where possible.
Additionally, the council may not grant planning approval if there is no net gain from adding a parking space to a property, i.e. if the addition of a driveway results in the removal of two on-street parking spaces.
In the meantime, you could do what this homeowner did: embrace the DIY driveway and just hope people are confused enough to avoid parking over it.
Susannah Guthrie has been a journalist for over a decade, covering everything from world news to fashion, entertainment, health and now cars. Having previously worked across titles like The New Daily, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, People Magazine and Cosmopolitan, Susannah now relishes testing family cars with the help of her husband and three-year-old son.
