Thumb Rule for Residential Building Construction

1. Right of way (ROW)

The concept of “Right of Way” (ROW) refers to the legal right of individuals or entities to access and pass through a specific pathway or corridor that is designated for public or private use. The Right of Way is an important aspect of land and property ownership and is governed by various laws and regulations.

• For residential building of height up to 10m, Right of way (ROW) is 6 meter.
• In case of public buildings, the minimum Right of way (ROW) is 8 meter.

Category of Road	Right of way (ROW)	Setback
Arterial Roads	50 meter	6 meter
Sub-Arterial Roads	30 meter	6 meter
Collector roads	20 meter	6 meter
Local Roads	12 meter	1.5 meter

2. Setback

A building setback is the open space between the building and the property boundary or lot line. We can construct the house only up to the setback line.

• The minimum width of the setback residential building shall be at least 1.5 meters from the neighbour’s boundary for placing door and window openings. However, such a side setback is not mandatory for blank wall.
• The minimum setback width for commercial cum residential buildings shall be at least 2 meters from the neighbour’s boundary.
• On the roadside, the minimum width of setback for residential buildings shall be at least 1.5 meters from the boundary of rights way of local road.
• The height of the building will determine additional setback. There must be at least 2 meters of setback even for residential building in all side if the height of the building is more than 10 meters up to 17 meters.

Roadside Setback

Description	Minimum Setback
National Highways	6 meter
Feeder Road	6 meter
District Road	6 meter
Local Road ( Residential Building)	1.5 meter
Local Road ( Commercial cum Residential)	2 meter
If the setback is not determined in the market areas of highways, feeder roads, and district roads.	3 meter

Setback on neighbor’s side

Description	Minimum Setback
Residential buildings up to 10 meters height	1.5 meter
Residential buildings more than 10 meters height and up to 17 meter height	3 meter
Residential cum commercial buildings more than 10 meters height and up to 17 meter height	2 meter
Building more than 17 meter height	5 meter

3. Floor Area Ratio (FAR)

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the ratio of the total covered area of a building to the size of the plot on which it is built. It is a measure of how much floor space can be built on a given plot. FAR is regulated by the Building Byelaws of various municipalities. The FAR varies depending on the type of building and the location of the plot. For example, the FAR for residential buildings in Kathmandu Metropolitan City is 4.5, while the FAR for commercial buildings is 3.5.

Suppose the Person X has got a plot of 1,000 sq. ft. and the permissible FAR, according to municipality is 4.5. He can construct building which has maximum buildup area of 4500 sq. ft.

4. Ground Coverage

The total area covered by the building on the ground floor is known as ground coverage. Based on restrictions of height and FAR, the ground coverage can be adjusted to get maximum usage of the plot.

The ground coverage area is calculated by dividing the Building’s Ground Floor area by the total plot area. Building area means the floor space of a building when looking down at it from the top.

Ground Coverage Area = (Building Ground Floor Area / Site Area) X 100

• Maximum ground coverage for residential and mixed residential buildings shall not exceed 70 percent for land up to 250 square meter size and 60 percent for bigger than 250 square meter size.
• The maximum ground coverage for buildings other than residential and mixed residential shall not exceed 50 percent of the total land. These include all corporate, public and institutional, and governmental buildings.

5. Plot

• No plot area shall be less than 2.8 aana. (approx. 960 sq. ft.)