Before you ask what a house costs, find out what you are legally allowed to build. Enter your plot size and this tool returns your permissible FAR, maximum built-up area, ground coverage, dwelling units, minimum setbacks and height limit under MPD-2021 development controls, including the next-lower-category rule that most published tables leave out.
MPD-2021 development controls for residential plotted housing in Delhi
Add width and depth and the tool will also check whether the prescribed setbacks physically allow you to reach your permissible ground coverage. On narrow plots they often do not, which triggers a relief provision in the bye-laws.
This is the development control envelope published in MPD-2021, not a sanction. The number of floors that can actually be approved on your plot depends on your colony, road width, fire clearance and the sanctioning authority's assessment, which is why this tool reports height available rather than a floor count. Land under mandatory road widening reduces your plot area before any of these numbers apply.
Status as of August 2026
MPD-2021 is still the operative statutory plan for Delhi. The draft MPD-2041 went out for public consultation in 2021 and drew roughly 33,000 suggestions, but it was never formally notified. In August 2026 the Delhi Development Authority approved Master Plan Delhi 2047 in its place, aligning the capital's blueprint with the national Viksit Bharat 2047 horizon. That plan now goes to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for approval and notification, the same route every previous Delhi master plan has taken before acquiring legal effect. Until that notification happens, your building plan is sanctioned under MPD-2021 development controls read with the Unified Building Bye-Laws. Be careful with articles quoting MPD-2041 figures as though they are current law, because they are not.
Residential plotted housing, the table this calculator runs on
| Plot area (sq m) | Ground coverage | FAR | Dwelling units | Setbacks F / R / S1 / S2 (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below 32 | 90% | 350 | 3 | 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| Above 32 to 50 | 90% | 350 | 3 | 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| Above 50 to 100 | 90% | 350 | 4 | 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| Above 100 to 250 | 75% | 300 | 4 | 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| Above 250 to 500 | 75% | 225 | 6 | 3 / 3 / 3 / 0 |
| Above 500 to 750 | 75% | 225 | 6 | 6 / 3 / 3 / 3 |
| Above 750 to 1000 | 50% | 200 | 9 | 6 / 3 / 3 / 3 |
| Above 1000 to 1500 | 50% | 200 | 9 | 6 / 3 / 3 / 3 |
| Above 1500 to 2000 | 50% | 200 | 12 | 6 / 3 / 3 / 3 |
| Above 2000 to 2250 | 50% | 200 | 12 | 9 / 6 / 6 / 6 |
| Above 2250 to 3000 | 50% | 200 | 15 | 9 / 6 / 6 / 6 |
| Above 3000 to 3750 | 50% | 200 | 18 | 9 / 6 / 6 / 6 |
| Above 3750 to 10000 | 50% | 200 | 21 | 9 / 6 / 6 / 6 |
| Above 10000 | 50% | 200 | 21 | 15 / 9 / 9 / 9 |
Source: MPD-2021 Chapter 4 Shelter, sub-para 4.4.3, as published in DDA's Handbook on Development Controls for Residential Development. Verified August 2026.
Open methodology, so you can check every number against the source table
Your plot size is converted to square metres, since the development control table is written in square metres. One gaj is one square yard, which is nine square feet or about 0.8361 square metres. The local body is competent to disregard a variation of up to 2 percent in plot size arising from conversion between square yards and square metres, so a plot sitting a hair above a boundary is usually treated generously rather than penalised.
Maximum built-up area is plot area multiplied by FAR and divided by 100, since Delhi expresses FAR as a percentage rather than a multiple. Maximum ground coverage is plot area multiplied by the coverage percentage. Both figures are reported in square feet and square metres because drawings use metres while conversations about plots use square feet.
MPD-2021 states that coverage and FAR permissible in any category shall not be less than what is permissible and available to the largest plot in the next lower category. This matters enormously just above the 250, 750 and 1000 sq m boundaries, where the headline percentages drop sharply. The calculator computes the entitlement of the largest plot in every lower category and reports whichever result is higher, then tells you when the protection is what governs your plot.
Minimum setbacks come from the same table. If you enter plot width and depth, the tool computes the footprint that physically remains after setbacks and compares it against your permissible ground coverage. Where the prescribed setbacks make the permissible coverage unachievable, the bye-laws allow the setbacks of the preceding category, and the tool flags exactly when you should be asking for that relief.
Maximum height is 15 m without stilt parking and 17.5 m with it. Stilt area of non-habitable height used for parking is excluded from FAR but counted toward building height, so the calculator deducts it before dividing the remaining height by your floor to floor dimension. What you get is arithmetic on the height cap. It is deliberately not a statement of how many floors will be sanctioned, because that is a permission and only the sanctioning authority can grant it.
Worth knowing while you plan: balconies up to 1.5 m width are free from FAR in plotted development, a basement used for household storage and parking is not counted toward FAR, and mezzanine and service floors are counted. Small plots up to 105 sq m in approved layouts, regularised colonies, village abadi and lal dora areas can use the Saral scheme, where construction starts on an undertaking rather than waiting for full plan scrutiny. Once you know your envelope, price it with the house construction cost calculator, then decide scope with the bare shell vs turnkey comparator.
FAR, ground coverage and building limits in Delhi
FAR stands for Floor Area Ratio. In Delhi it is expressed as a percentage: the total covered area on all floors multiplied by 100 and divided by the plot area. A FAR of 300 means you may build three times the plot area across all floors combined. On a 100 sq m plot with FAR 300, the maximum built-up area is 300 sq m spread over however many floors your design uses within the height limit.
200 gaj equals about 167 sq m, which falls in the above 100 to 250 sq m category. Under MPD-2021 that slab carries FAR 300 and maximum ground coverage 75 percent, with 4 permissible dwelling units and a front setback of 3 m. Maximum built-up area works out to roughly 502 sq m, or about 5,400 sq ft across all floors.
MPD-2021 remains the operative statutory plan. The draft MPD-2041 was released for public consultation in 2021 but was never formally notified. In August 2026 the Delhi Development Authority approved Master Plan Delhi 2047, which now goes to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for approval and notification before it takes legal effect. Until that notification happens, building plan sanction continues under MPD-2021 development controls and the Unified Building Bye-Laws.
No, and this is the most misread rule in the table. MPD-2021 states that the total coverage and FAR permissible in any plot category shall not be less than that permissible and available to the largest plot in the next lower category. A 760 sq m plot appears to get 50 percent coverage and FAR 200, but a 750 sq m plot is entitled to 75 percent and FAR 225, so the 760 sq m plot must be allowed at least 562 sq m of ground coverage and 1,687 sq m of built-up area. This calculator applies that protection automatically.
Maximum height is 15 m for plots without stilt parking and 17.5 m for plots with stilt parking, and such a residential building is not treated as a high rise. Stilt area of non-habitable height used for parking is excluded from FAR but does count toward the building height. Fire and life safety clearance from the Delhi Fire Service is obtained by the individual plot owner.
The development control table sets FAR, ground coverage, dwelling units, setbacks and a height limit. It does not state a floor count, because the number of floors that can actually be sanctioned depends on your floor to floor heights, the colony, road width, fire clearance and the sanctioning authority's assessment of your specific plot. This calculator therefore reports the height budget available to you rather than a floor count. A floor count is a permission and only the sanctioning authority can grant it.
For residential plotted development, balconies up to 1.5 m width are free from FAR, and wrap-around balconies are allowed so long as they do not exceed 40 percent of the total open area. A basement is not counted toward FAR when used for permitted purposes such as household storage and parking. Stilt area below 2.4 m used for parking is excluded from FAR but counted in height. Mezzanine and service floors, if constructed, are counted in FAR.
No. It reports the development control envelope from the published MPD-2021 table so you can plan realistically before spending on drawings. Your actual sanction depends on the zonal development plan, your colony category, road width, plot dimensions after any mandatory road widening, and clearances from the relevant departments. Sujeet Engineering Solutions reviews your papers and site free of charge and prepares drawings for sanction.
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