FAR & ground coverage calculator — Himachal Pradesh
How much floor area the rules allow on your plot, which regime it falls under, and what the road outside does to your height. Uses the HP TCP slabs, including the 2022 amendment.
0 if no motorable road reaches the plot.
Appendix-7 only, and it is paid for.
| Regime | |
| Base FAR | |
| Premium FAR | |
| Ground coverage | |
| Height limit | |
| Approx. storeys at 3 m |
No motorable road: a parking floor is not permitted, and the height is capped for a non-vehicular approach.
What FAR means
Floor Area Ratio is the total built floor area you may put on a plot, expressed as a multiple of the plot itself. A FAR of 1.75 on 1,000 m² permits 1,750 m² of floor area — over any number of storeys, subject to the height limit.
Ground coverage is the separate limit: how much of the plot the building may sit on at ground level. FAR governs the total; coverage governs the footprint. You need both, and the binding one is whichever runs out first.
Which regime applies
Himachal splits on plot area at 2,500 m²:
| Plot area | Regime | FAR | Coverage | Max height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2,500 m² | Appendix-1 (General Building) | 1.75 | set by setbacks | 21 m |
| 2,500 m² and above | Appendix-7 (Real Estate Project) | 1.75 + up to 0.75 premium | 30–35% | 25 m |
Above the threshold the project is a Real Estate Project and Appendix-7 governs, which is also where RERA registration and the premium FAR purchase come in. Below it, the plot is a general building under Appendix-1 and the footprint is decided by setbacks rather than a coverage percentage.
Setback slabs under Appendix-1
| Plot up to | Front | Rear | Sides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 m² | 2 m | 1.5 m | 1.5 / 1.5 m |
| 500 m² | 3 m | 2 m | 2 / 2 m |
| larger | 5 m | 2 m | 3 / 3 m |
What the road does to your height
A narrow approach caps the building height regardless of the FAR you are entitled to — a fire tender has to reach it. Under Appendix-1 General Regulation 2:
| Abutting road / path | Height cap |
|---|---|
| Under 3 m, or no motorable road | 10 m |
| 3 m to 5 m | 13 m |
| Over 5 m | the regime maximum |
Appendix-7 group housing does not get this ladder: it requires a 5 m means of access (6 m over 1,000 population) in the first place, so a scheme of that size on a narrow lane is not a height problem but an access failure.
Common questions
What is the FAR in Himachal Pradesh?
The base FAR is 1.75 for a Real Estate Project under Appendix-7, with up to 0.75 more available for purchase — a maximum of 2.50. General buildings under Appendix-1 also work to 1.75, but with no premium purchase and a lower height cap.
Is FAR the same as FSI?
Yes. Floor Area Ratio and Floor Space Index are the same quantity under two names — FAR is the usual term in the north, FSI in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Some states express FSI as a percentage; a FAR of 1.75 is an FSI of 175%.
Does the parking floor count against FAR?
One parking floor is exempt. Only one — a second counts in full. The exemption is why a stilt floor is worth building where the ground allows it, and it is not available at all on a plot with no motorable approach.
What is premium FAR and is it worth buying?
Under the 2022 amendment an Appendix-7 project may buy up to 0.75 extra FAR from the government for a fee — a 43% increase on the base. Whether it pays depends on the fee against your sale rate, and on whether the height cap lets you build the extra area at all. There is no point buying floor area you have no height to put it in.
Get this on your actual boundary
These figures assume a rectangle. Trace your tatima and the same rules run on the real shape — with the setbacks drawn, the footprint measured and a compliance check against all 80 encoded rules.
Trace your tatima → Read the rules →