Table of Contents
Building bye-laws and Planning Regulations
Learn about building bye-laws planning regulations and building bye-laws that ensure safety, health, and organized urban development. Explore key aspects like set-backs, floor space index (FSI), open space requirements, room sizes, structural design, and more.
building bye-laws Understand how building bye-laws guide construction activities, prevent haphazard growth, and protect public welfare. building bye-laws Ideal for civil engineers, architects, and construction professionals seeking to comply with local building codes and regulations building bye-laws.
What is Planning Regulations and building bye-laws
A building bye-laws is a local regulation established by a subordinate authority. Building codes or bye-laws are defined as the standards and specifications designed to provide minimum safeguards for workers during construction, ensure the health and comfort of users, and offer adequate safety to the public in general building bye-laws.
building bye-laws its own and with respect to its weather conditions, availability of materials and labour, other factors etc., it becomes economical to construct residential buildings and other structures in a definite planned way. Hence, every locality prepares or frames certain rules and regulations controlling the development of area under its command.
An order that is prescribed is referred to as a regulation, whereas a law established by a local authority is known as a bye-law. A bye-law serves as a supplementary law or regulation.
Following are the three main objects of framing bye-laws:
1. Pre-planning building activities becomes easier, and the provisions of bye-laws provide guidelines for the designing architect or engineer.
2. The building bye-laws prevent haphazard development and ensure uniformity and consistency in construction.
3. The provisions of building bye-laws typically ensure the safety of individuals who work and reside in the structures, protecting them from fire, noise, health hazards, and structural failures.
The bye-laws and regulations govern the following aspects of buildings:
- Set-back or building line.
- Floor space index or built-up area.
- Open space requirements around the building.
- Size of rooms.
- Height of rooms and buildings.
- Lighting and ventilation of rooms.
- Water supply and sanitary provisions.
- Structural design or sizes and sections.
1) Set-back or building line:
building bye-laws A set back may be defined as frontage margin or open space in front of the abutting street or road. The land contained in set-back belongs to the owner of the property. It is also referred to as a building line and is laid down in each case parallel to the plot boundaries by the local authority, beyond which nothing can be constructed towards the plot boundaries. Certain buildings like cinema, business centres, factories, etc.
which attract large number of vehicles, should be set-back a further distance apart from the building line. This line after this extra margin is called control line.
The fixation of building line depends upon the site of the proposed building, keeping in view the present width and future widening requirements.
Following are the advantages of the building line or set-backs are as follows:
1. If absolutely necessary, part of the set-backs may be acquired for the purpose of widening the road.
2. If the setback is uniform, buildings are constructed in a straight line parallel to the road axis, leading to an improvement in the road layout.
3. The provisions of the set-backs results into better conditions of air, light and ventilation of the buildings.
4. Setbacks at street corners enhance visibility and contribute to traffic safety building bye-laws.
5. The space of set-backs can be conveniently used as a parking place or for developing as garden.
6. They are necessary for the protection of the buildings from street nuisance.
7. They reduce the danger of fire by increasing the distance between opposite buildings.
2) Floor space index or built-up area:
The built up area or covered area equals to the plot area minus the area due for open spaces. The ratio of the total floor area, including all floors, to the area of the plot on which the building stands is known as the Floor Space Index (F.S.I.) or Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R.). The value of F.S.I. or F.A.R. is determined by the local authority and may vary across different areas and types of buildings within the town. Floor area refers to the built-up area, excluding the area of walls.
building bye-laws The F.S.I. controls the development activity on the patioland and consequently. teasure to check density of population instance, if the is 0.80, the maximum built-up area plot area is 600m2 and if permissible i which can be up on the plot is 480m2
Following are the limitations of built-up area mentioned in National Building Code:
| No. | Plot Area | Maximum Permissible Built-up Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Less than 200m² | 60% with two-storeyed structure |
| 2 | From 200m² to 500m² | 50% of the plot area |
| 3 | From 500m² to 1000m² | 40% of the plot area |
| 4 | More than 1000m² | 33.33% of the plot area |
3) Open space requirements around the buildings:
The sufficient open spaces, inside and around the building should be left to meet with the requirements of lighting and ventilation. In case of buildings abutting streets, in front, the open spaces to the rear or sides of the building should be provided to serve the purpose of future widening of such streets.
All such open spaces weather interior or exterior should be kept free from any erection thereon and shall be kept open to the sky and no cornice, roof, or weather shed more than 0.75 m in width shall project over such open space building bye-laws.
Following are the requirements of open space for varying heights of building as per National Building Code:
| No. | Height of Building | Open Space Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Less than 10 m |
|
| 2 | From 10 m to 25 m | Requirements as per above item no. 1 are increased at the rate of 1 m for every 3 m or fraction thereof. |
| 3 | From 25 m to 30 m | Minimum 10 m. |
| 4 | Above 30 m |
Minimum 10 m increased by 1 m for every 5 m or fraction thereof, subject to a maximum of 16 m. |
If any human-habitation is not receiving air and light from front or rear, shall abut on interior open space having width not less than 3 m.
4) Size of rooms:
Considering the point of health and ventilation, National Building Code has fixed certain minimum area or sizes for individual rooms and apartments which are tabulated below building bye-laws.
| No. | Type of Room | Minimum Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One habitable room | 9.5 m², minimum width 2.4 m |
| 2 | Two habitable rooms | Minimum area of one room: 9.5 m², and the other: 7.5 m², with minimum width 2.4 m |
| 3 | Kitchen only | 4.5 m², minimum width 1.8 m |
| 4 | Kitchen with store room | 5.5 m², minimum width of kitchen 1.8 m |
| 5 | Kitchen cum dining room | 9.5 m², minimum width 2.4 m |
| 6 | Bathroom | 1.8 m² or minimum size 1.5 m x 1.2 m |
| 7 | Water closet (W.C.) | 1.1 m² (Floor area) |
| 8 | Bath W.C. combined | 2.8 m² (Floor area), minimum width 1.2 m |
| 9 | Mezzanine floor (living room) | 9.5 m² (Not more than 1/3 of the plinth area of the building) |
5) Height of rooms and buildings:
General criteria to decide the height of the building as per N.B.C. is 1.5 times the width of the street to which the building abuts on its front side. If street width is above 8 m or equal to 12 m, the height of the building should not be more than 12 m and in case of more than 12 m wide street, the height of the building should not be more than street width and in no case more than 24 m.
6) Lighting and ventilation of rooms:
For sufficient lighting and ventilation in the rooms of building, openings like windows, ventilators or direct opening to external air should be provided.
building bye-laws The area of such openings excluding area of doors should be minimum 1/10th of the floor area for dry and hot climate and minimum 1/6th of the area for wet hot climate. The aggregate area of doors and windows shall not be less than 1/7th of the floor area of room.
7) Water supply and sanitary positions:
Certain minimum requirements for water supply and sanitary conveniences like water tap, sink, nahni trap, water closets, urinals, wash basins, etc. shall be provided as per N.B.C. for different types of buildings.
8) Structural design or sizes and sections:
building bye-laws Each structure should be designed for safe loads, earthquake resistance, bearing capacities, etc. as per the; latest relevant I.S. codes and N.B.C. Each component of the building should be designed with its specific requirements. Some general thumb-rules for structural design are as follows:
1. Depth of foundation: 0.75 m to 1.0 m for single storeyed building below ground level. 1.0 m to 1.3 m below G.L. for two storeyed building.
2. Width of foundation of of wall: Double the thickness of wall just above the plinth and then add 30 cm to it will give the width of the foundation.
3. Concrete in foundation of wall: It should be nearly equal to 5/6th of the thickness of wall above the plinth. The design of all other structural components is out of the scope of this book building bye-laws.
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