Bye Laws

BBMP Building Bye Laws Floor Area Ratio Carpet Area Built Up Area Super Built Up Area for Residential House Construction in Bangalore

If you are keen to begin your house construction in Bangalore, there are some terminologies like the floor area ratio in Bangalore, built-up area, super built-up area, and the BBMP bye laws that may seem confusing or hard to comprehend. Both BBMP and the BDA are significant bodies when it comes to construction and land in Bangalore, and one must corroborate that they are adhering to the norms set by the concerned authorities. Else, one pays a hefty price leading to unpleasant consequences to the extent of demolition or refusal of an occupational certificate. Thus, whether you choose to buy from top builders in Bangalore or approach architectural firms in Bangalore to design your home, it is pivotal to know the bye-laws and norms to build safely without breaching any rules. Before we discuss some important bye-laws that you must keep in mind, let us first look at some terminologies that will help you understand the process of construction better:

1. Plot Area:

A plot area is a marked-out area that you have legally purchased from a reliable seller. It is marked using a boundary or a fence, and the term plot is often used in gated communities, townships, etc.

2. Built-Up Area/Plinth Area:

As the term explains itself, it is the built part of your plot. It is excluding the open spaces and setbacks that you have left. This is an important term in the process of your house construction. The plinth or built up area is calculated in the following way: Built up Area = Carpet area+ Thickness of All walls + balcony

3. Setback area:

The open space or setbacks that you have left around the building during your house construction is called the setback area. The setbacks to be left are determined by the BBMP byelaws and depend on various factors like size of the plot, typology of the built space, the height of the building, road width, etc. The setback area is used for circulation around the building, parking, ventilation, etc. The method to calculate the setback area is as follows: Setback area = Plot area – Built-up Area

4. Carpet area:

Carpet Area is the area within walls or in other words, it is the built-up area excluding the area of the walls. It is the area that is actually available for utilization in a building. Ideally, it should be around 85-90% of the built-up area. The process to calculate the carpet area is as follows: Carpet Area = Built-up Area- Area of walls

5. Super Built-up Area:

In a building, there are many other features other than just a home that is used by an individual. Depending on which type of building you have chosen, there are features like a swimming pool, common lobby, common staircase, lifts, parking, etc. which are shared by all the occupants of the building. The super built-up area is the built-up area plus a proportion of the area taken up by all the other amenities. This term is often heard in the case of buying a home from top builders in Bangaloreas it is a common feature in apartments and villas. Usually, the top builders in Bangalore may add upto 20% of the total cost of the apartment to the super built-up area of each unit. You can also take the help of a construction calculator to derive the different areas as discussed above. In order to get a better understanding of the terms discussed, you can go through the following plan:

Factors Determining Setbacks:

The objective of setbacks is to ensure ample sunlight, ventilation, greenery and vehicular access to the buildings in that particular location. These days, the rising building density in cities is creating havoc and disturbance for the vehicular movement of emergency servicesduring a mishap as well.Therefore, the better the location and the larger the plot size, the greater the setback requirement. The byelaws set by the BBMP primarily depend on the following factors:

Size of the plot
Whether it is one-side or multi-side open plot
Locality or neighbourhood where the plot is located
Width of the road on which the plot is located
Maximum permitted coverage area in the locality

According to the BBMP bye-laws in Bangalore,

The front and the rear setback is determined with reference to depth of the site. The left and right setbacks are determined in reference to width of the site and if the building is up to 11.5 m height, the setbacks are calculated as percentage of depth and width of the site.

For example, for a 30*40 plot of 1200 sq. ft in Bangalore, as per the BBMP/BDA bye-laws, a minimum of 8% setback has to be given on all three sides and 12% on the front facing the road depending on the depth and width of the site.

BDA Bye Laws (Revised Master Plan 2015)

	Width of site		Depth of site
Width/Depth of site ( m )	Right side	Left side	Front side	Rear side
Up to 6.0	1.0 m	0	1.0 m	0
Above 6.0 up to 9.0	1.0 m on all sides
Above 9.0 m	8%	8%	12%	8%

Note: For plot over size of 4000 sq.m, a minimum setback of 5.0 m on all sides shall be
insisted.

BBMP Bye Laws

Depth in Mtr	Residential		Commercial		Depth in Mtr	Residential		Commercial
	Front	Rear	Front	Rear		Left	Right	Left	Right
Up to 6	1.00	-	1.00	-	Up to 6	-	1.00	-	-
Over 6 up to 9	1.00	1.00	1.50	-	Over 6 up to 9	1.00	1.00	-	1.50
Over 9 up to 12	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50	Over 9 up to 12	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50
Over 12 up to 18	3.00	1.50	3.00	1.50	Over 12 up to 18	1.50	3.00	1.50	3.00
Over 18 up to 24	4.00	3.00	3.50	3.00	Over 18 up to 24	2.50	3.50	2.50	4.00
Over 24	5.00	3.50	4.50	3.00	Over 24	3.00	4.00	3.00	4.50

[A pictorial representation can be given]

If it is a corner sites both the sides facing the road should be treated as front side and the regulations pertaining to both should be applied.
If the building is facing more than two roads then it should be treated as a corner site and the rules for two of the wider roads should be applied.
If the site is facing roads on both the front and the rear, both the sides should be treated as the front. The other two sides not facing roads should be treated as the right and the setbacks should be left accordingly.
If the site is of an irregular shape the set-backs are to be calculated as per the depth orwidth at the points where the depths or width is varying. Average set-backs cannot be considered in such instances.
If the site is of an irregular shape the set-backs are to be calculated as per the depth orwidth at the points where the depths or width is varying. Average set-backs cannot be considered in such instances.

What is FLOOR AREA RATIO or [FAR]?

The floor area ratio is the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the plot on which it is built. The floor area ratio varies owing to a lot of factors: the size of the plot, typology of the built space, road width and the zoning under which it falls. Bangalore is divided into three zones based on the intensity of the development and can be classified as intensely developed, moderately developed, and sparsely. Top builders in Bangalore can be relied upon to follow all the aforementioned byelaws when they undertake a project along with using the apt FAR as applicable to that region.

In the Bangalore Revised Master Plan 2015, the FSI varies from 1.75 for smaller plots to 3.35 for larger plots. The exact value depends on factors like a specific location, building typology, the size of the plot, and the road width.

For instance, if you have a plot of size 30*40ft, where 30ft is the width and the depth is 40ft, the FAR will be 1.75 which adds upto 2100sq. ft. This is built-up area that is permissible for you to construct on your site where the road width is 30 ft. after leaving the setbacks as per guidelines.

(A similar pic can represent a house with 30*40 plot)

[A representation of the same in a picture would be effective]

As we are well aware, the construction cost per square foot in Bangalore is quite high, hence it becomes very important to make the most of the build-up area available. The tables below will help you understand more about the exact FAR which is derived based on various factors.

.No.	Plot size (sq.m)	Ground Coverage. (Max)	FAR	Road width (m)
1.	Up to 360	Up to 75 %	1.75	Up to 12.0
2.	Above 360 up to 1000	Up to 65%	2.25	Above 12.0 up to 18.0
3.	Above 1000 up to 2000	Up to 60%	2.50	Above 18.0 up to 24.0
4.	Above 2000 up to 4000	Up to 55%	3.00	Above 24.0 up to 30.0
5.	Above 4000 up to 20000	Up to 50%	3.25	Above 30.m