Backyard

[3] British planning require minimum distances between the rear faces of adjacent dwellings and so there is usually space for a back garden of some sort.

[4] In Australia, until the mid-20th century, the back yard of a property would traditionally contain a fowl run, outhouse ("dunny"), vegetable patch, and woodheap.

[5] But, since the 1990s, the trend in Australian suburban development has been for back yards to disappear as the dwellings now occupy almost all of the building plot.

A semi-detached house typical of the British suburbs of the 20th century will have front gardens which face the road and provide access.

While buildings opening directly onto a street may not have a front garden, most will have some space at the back, however small; the exception being back-to-back houses found in northern industrial towns in England such as Leeds, but now mostly demolished.

A private back yard with a "privy" (toilet) was a defining feature of the byelaw terraced house, a type of dwelling built to comply with the Public Health Act 1875.