RDA Building Regulations Part 1: Construction in residential schemes

Each metropolitan city has a set of guidelines pertaining to establishment and construction of housing societies. The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has established rules for the provision of housing societies, commercial areas, mandatory open spaces etc.

If you’re evaluating a housing society in Rawalpindi’s growing real estate market, these are the provisions which you have to check to evaluate the authenticity of the housing society.

Established Built-up areas

For any building leaning towards a road with more than 25 feet, Right of Way*, the following open spaces have to be given:

Plot Size	Building Line	Rear Space	Side Space
Less than 5 marlas	5 ft (1.52 m)	Not required	Not required
5 marlas & above but less than 10 marlas	5 ft (1.52 m)	5 ft (1.52 m)	Not required
10 marlas & above but less than 1 kanal	10 ft (3.05 m)	7 ft (2.13 m)	5 ft (1.52 m) (on one side)
1 kanal & above but less than 2 kanals	10 ft (3.05 m)	7 ft (2.13 m)	5 ft (1.52 m) (on one side)
2 kanals & above	20 ft (6.1 m)	10 ft (3.05 m)	10 ft (3.05 m) (on both sides)
Apartment building* on 4 kanals & above	30 ft (9.15 m )	13 ft (3.96 m)	13 ft (3.96 m) (on both sides)

In addition to this, the construction of drain, sewer, septic tank, cesspool, filter, or any other structure for disposal of liquids, and private swimming pools is permissible, but neither of these structures can have a roof over them.

Building height

This is for standardising the maximum height of houses and apartment building. The provisions are as follows:

• The height of any building other than Apartment Buildings, measured from the crown of the road* to the top of the parapet wall*, cannot exceed 38 feet.
• For apartment buildings, the maximum building height on residential plots, measured from the crown of the road to the top of the parapet wall, cannot exceed 45 feet.
• The total number of storeys permissible in an apartment building on residential plots, not including basements, cannot be more than four. Each storey is to have a minimum building heights of 9 feet and 6 inches (2.9 m). These measurements are for storeys other than the basement.

For each plot size, a specific area has to be left open as per RDA guidelines. The details of these are specified under Ground Coverage and Floor Area Ratio (FAR):

For buildings leaning on roads that have more space than the Right of Way, the FAR and ground coverage shall be as applicable in approved schemes. For roads having Right of Way up to 25 feet (7.62 m), the following rules have to be abided:
The ground coverage of these buildings is further specified as:Porch

• For a plot sized 10 marlas and above, the car porch cannot exceed 20 feet in length and is only permitted on the side space.
• For corner houses, a car porch is permissible along the longer side only.
• Additional room over the car porch is only permissible in case of sites with minimum 5 feet side spaces.

Toilet/BathroomA toilet/bathroom not exceeding 40 square feet in area and 8 feet in height can be constructed in the rear corner towards the dead wall as an integral part of the main building.Apartment BuildingsAn apartment building can only be constructed on sites measuring 4 kanals and above.These guidelines are primarily for building and construction. For more information, check more blogs!
If you found this helpful or have any queries, please comment below.
Right of way= An area to be left open for pedestrians and vehicles to move freely around the building.Crown of the road= Cross-sectional shape of a road surface, described as cross-sloping, either in-sloped or out-sloped.Parapet wall= Barrier extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony etc.

Plot Size	Maximum Ground Coverage	Maximum FAR
Less than 5 marlas	85%	1:2
5 marlas & above but less than 10 marlas	80%	1:1.6
10 marlas & above but less than 1 kanal	70%	1:1.5
1 kanal & above but less than 2 kanals	65%	1:1.4
2 kanals & above	60%	1:1.3
Apartment building on residential plot	55%	1:2.5