How much can you build: coverage, FAR, height and setbacks by plot size
Two numbers decide how much house fits. Ground coverage caps the footprint. FAR caps the total floor area across every floor. Both fall as plots get bigger, while setbacks grow. The table groups the sixteen plot bands of Regulation 24.1, Table 1 by their coverage and FAR.
| Plot size (sqm) | Max ground coverage | Max FAR | Height; full-footprint floors the FAR pays for | Front setback (m) | Side setback (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 300 | 75% | 1.80 | 15 m cap; about 2.4 | 1.5 (up to 75 sqm), 2.0 (to 120), 3.0 (to 200), 3.25 (to 300) | No plain width in Table 1; zonal plan |
| Above 300 to 500 | 65% | 1.80 | 15 m cap; about 2.8 | 4.0 (to 400), 4.5 (to 500) | No plain width in Table 1; zonal plan |
| Above 500 to 750 | 60% | 1.50 | 15 m cap; 2.5 | 5.0 | 2.5 |
| Above 750 to 1,250 | 55% | 1.50 | 15 m cap; about 2.7 | 6.0 (to 1,000), 7.0 (to 1,250) | 2.5 |
| Above 1,250 to 1,750 | 50% | 1.50 | 15 m cap; 3.0 | 10.0 (to 1,500), 12.5 (to 1,750) | 2.5 |
| Above 1,750 to 2,000 | 45% | 1.50 | 15 m cap; about 3.3 | 12.5 | 2.5 |
| Above 2,000 to 3,500 | 45% | 1.00 | 15 m cap; about 2.2 | 15 | 3 (to 2,500), 4.5 (to 3,500) |
| Above 3,500 to 4,000 | 40% | 1.00 | 15 m cap; 2.5 | 20 | 6 |
Source: Regulation 24.1, Table 1, YEIDA Building Regulations 2010 (Notification No. 311/77-3-09-8X/09, 20 December 2010), as transcribed from the notified drawing on our regulations page, read 6 October 2026. The floors figure is FAR divided by coverage: our arithmetic, not a permitted floor count. Table 1 also sets a minimum rear open space for each band: an envelope pocket up to 2,000 sqm (for example 5.5 m x 3.0 m above 200 to 300 sqm) and a plain width above that. YEIDA has issued amendments since 2010; your sector zonal plan and the current byelaws govern.
How many floors, and how high?
The Regulations set no fixed number of floors for a residential plot. They cap height at 15 m on every plot size. Table 1 states the coverage limit for the ground, first and second floors.
FAR is the limit that runs out first. On a plot up to 300 sqm, FAR 1.80 divided by 75 per cent coverage pays for about 2.4 full-footprint floors. So a G+2 on such a plot gives some area back: a set-back top floor, a terrace, or ground given to stilt parking. The worked figures for each common plot size are on our how much can I build on a YEIDA plot guide. Our build guides plan G+1 or G+2 homes within the sanctioned FAR, coverage and height.
Some built area does not count against FAR. Stilt parking up to 2.4 m to beam bottom is FAR free on plots of 112 sqm and above (Regulation 24.1(2)). The Regulations also exclude a single basement equal to the ground coverage when it is used for parking, services or storage, and balconies up to 1.5 m wide. A wider balcony counts one fourth of its area. Enclosing a balcony in any form is prohibited and cannot be compounded (Regulation 24.8(16)).
The number of homes in the building is capped too. Up to 100 sqm: two dwelling units plus a servant quarter. Above 100 and up to 500 sqm: three. Above 500 sqm: four (Regulation 24.1(2)).
Setbacks: what the table sets and what the zonal plan sets
The front setback is the one Table 1 fixes for every band. It is 3.25 m on a plot above 200 and up to 300 sqm, and 4.0 m from 300 to 400 sqm. A plain side setback appears only from 500 sqm upward: 2.5 m up to 2,000 sqm, then 3 m to 6 m on the largest plots. Below that, from 200 sqm, the table prints a side pocket in front of the ramp instead (3.0 m x 4.5 m on a plot above 200 to 300 sqm).
Two allowances matter at design stage. Open vehicle ramps are permitted in the side setback only. Canopy projections up to 4.5 m by 2.4 m are permitted in front or side setbacks where the front setback is 4.5 m or more (how much can I build guide). Because the table defers to the zonal plan, read your sector’s zonal plan and the YEIDA-issued site plan with your architect before a line is drawn.
The build-by obligation and the 31 December 2026 deadline
YEIDA’s 87th board meeting on 7 November 2025 extended the no-charge construction window to 31 December 2026 for allottees who executed lease deeds for residential plots (Times of India, 8 November 2025). The scheme terms behind it generally require construction within about three years of the lease deed or possession. The extension is a reprieve from that clock, not a repeal of it (deadline guide).
- Who it covers. Residential plots with an executed lease deed and no house yet. Industrial plots run their own 48-month functional-certificate clock.
- What meets it. The completion (functional) certificate from YEIDA. A structure without the certificate does not.
- Your own clock. It runs from your possession or lease-deed date under your scheme terms. Confirm it on your allotment letter and lease deed.
As this page is updated in November 2026, the window has under two months left. Our deadline guide is plain that a complete house started after mid-2026 lands very tight. The route it sets out is a phased build: the qualifying block built and certified first, then the remaining floors finished under the same sanctioned plan.
What counts as built
A structure on its own does not close the obligation. The certificate does. Regulation 24.1(2)(x) sets the minimum: 40 sqm, or 50 per cent of the maximum permissible ground coverage, whichever is more, with a functional toilet or bath and a kitchen. The occupancy certificate adds these items (regulations page):
- Flooring, and electrical wiring (fittings not mandatory).
- Plumbing and fittings in at least one toilet and the kitchen.
- Trees per Table 6 or current directions, whichever is higher, and a number plate.
- A boundary wall.
- Internal and external finishing (plastering and whitewashing not mandatory).
- A lockable house, with all external doors and windows fitted.
- No violation of the Building Regulations, Zonal Plan Regulations or Master Plan.
The test is written against permissible coverage, so it grows with the plot. On the 75 per cent band it works out to about 45 sqm on a 120 sqm plot, about 75 sqm on 200 sqm and about 112.5 sqm on 300 sqm, indicative only (how much can I build guide). Who issues the certificate, the BPMS steps and the documents are on our YEIDA completion certificate guide.
Map approval: the BPMS route
Since 1 August 2024 the only legal route to a sanctioned map is YEIDA’s BPMS portal. A Council of Architecture registered, YEIDA-empanelled architect files it with your PIMS credentials. The Smart-DCR engine checks the drawings against the byelaws before an officer reviews them.
Two rules in the Regulations matter for planning. If YEIDA makes no decision within 60 days, the application becomes a deemed sanction, but only if you notify the CEO in writing within the next 20 days (Regulation 13(2)). A sanctioned plan is valid for 5 years (Regulations 10(5) and 15).
The document list, the Smart-DCR pre-check and the sanction sequence are on our YEIDA building plan approval (BPMS) guide, and in Hindi on YEIDA naksha pass (BPMS).
How long a build takes: stages and dated milestones
There is no honest single number. The schedule that governs is the list of dated milestones in your written contract, fixed before work starts. Plot size, floors and finish level decide it. The stages run in this order, and some overlap:
- Design and structural drawings within your plot’s FAR, coverage and height.
- Building plan sanction on BPMS. Work cannot legally start before it clears.
- Site setup, excavation and foundation.
- Plinth to RCC frame, one slab cycle at a time, with curing that cannot be rushed.
- Brickwork and plaster, partly in parallel with the upper slabs.
- Finishes: flooring, electrical, plumbing and paint.
- Snagging, handover and the completion certificate application.
What stretches the calendar on this corridor: GRAP construction bans, which typically restrict work across the October to January window in the NCR; the monsoon, which slows earthwork and curing; the sanction queue in front of everything; design changes after the frame is cast; and finishes chosen late. That October to January window covers the last months before 31 December 2026. The stage table and the questions to ask any contractor are on our how long does it take to build a house guide, and the eight stages from possession to keys are on how to build on a YEIDA plot.
This page prints no construction price. Plot size, floors, soil and finish level drive the cost; ask the desk for a dated, itemised quote after a site walk.
What happens if the deadline is missed
- The free window ends. Keeping an unbuilt plot after 31 December 2026 means applying for time extensions.
- Extension charges apply and step up the longer the plot stays empty. Your scheme’s terms set the rates.
- Prolonged default can put the allotment itself at risk under scheme terms.
- The certificate stays the exit. Once YEIDA issues it, the obligation is closed.
Mechanism per YEIDA scheme terms and conditions, as summarised on our deadline guide. The 2010 Regulations hold no schedule of time-extension charges for a residential allotment; those sit in the allotment and lease terms (regulations page).
Building without a sanctioned map
A house built without a BPMS sanction cannot be certified. YEIDA will not issue a completion certificate for it, and the certificate is what utilities, a home loan, registry and resale ask for. The owner also risks compounding penalties and demolition orders (BPMS guide). The Regulations set a compounding charge per square metre for construction without a permit; this page does not print the rate.
If you own the plot from abroad
BPMS is fully digital. The empanelled architect files on the portal, and a local representative acts on a notarised or apostilled power of attorney for anything in person (BPMS guide). Payments release stage by stage after you have seen each stage complete, and progress reaches you as photo and video updates. The full remote route is on NRI home construction.
- YEIDA building regulations: all sixteen bands of Table 1, with every regulation number.
- How much can I build on a YEIDA plot: coverage and FAR worked for each common plot size.
- YEIDA deadline 2026: the countdown, the backward checklist and the phased build.
- YEIDA building plan approval: the BPMS route, the architect and the documents.
- YEIDA completion certificate: who issues it, the steps and why applications are held.
- How to build on a YEIDA plot: the eight stages from possession to keys.
- Won a YEIDA plot?: the five-stage journey from allotment letter to certificate.