Plot coverage & setback calculator

How it works

Setbacks are the open space you must leave around the building. We subtract them from your plot dimensions to show the buildable footprint and ground coverage. Required setbacks depend on plot size, zone and building bye-laws.

Why setbacks exist at all

A setback is the open space you must leave between your building and the plot boundary. It is not an arbitrary tax on your land: setbacks provide light and ventilation to habitable rooms, give fire services a route to reach the building, keep enough distance between neighbours for both to build, and preserve room for future road widening. They are the reason a 1,200 sq ft plot does not give you a 1,200 sq ft ground floor.

A worked example on a 30×40 plot

Take a 30 by 40 foot plot, which is 1,200 sq ft. Leave 5 ft at the front, 5 ft at the rear and 3 ft on each side, and the buildable rectangle becomes 24 ft by 30 ft, which is 720 sq ft. That is a ground coverage of 60 percent, and it means 480 sq ft of your plot is open space. Built-up area then comes from adding floors rather than from spreading out, which is why floor count matters so much on small Bangalore plots.

Setbacks changed in 2026

The Greater Bengaluru (Amendment) Regulations 2026 reduced setbacks and introduced fixed minimums for plots up to 150 sq m, a band that includes both the 30×40 (about 111 sq m) and the 20×30 (about 56 sq m). Residential height also rose to 15 m, with up to 3 m of stilt excluded from the calculation. If your drawings predate January 2026 they may be leaving space on the table. Our guide to what the 2026 rules changed sets out the detail.

What this calculator does, and what it does not

It is deliberately a geometry tool, not a rules engine. It takes the setbacks you enter and works out the footprint and coverage that follow. It does not tell you what you are permitted, because the permitted minimum depends on your plot size, your zone, your road width and the authority that governs your plot, and we would rather leave that blank than give you a confident wrong number. Get your figures from your architect or your corporation, then model them here.

Frequently asked questions

Are setbacks the same on all four sides?

Usually not. Front setbacks are typically the largest because they relate to the road, and the two sides can differ from each other, particularly on a corner plot or an irregular one. This calculator lets you set front, rear and side independently for that reason.

Can I build right up to the boundary?

Not in a normal residential case. Building into the setback creates an unauthorised portion, which can attract penalties and demolition of that portion, and it will cause problems at occupancy certificate stage and with lenders. It is one of the most common reasons a completed house cannot be regularised cleanly.

My neighbour has built into their setback. Does that help me?

No. What exists next door is not a precedent you can rely on, and it may simply be unauthorised. Your sanction is assessed against your own plot and the current regulations.