FAR & ground coverage calculator

Ground coverage limits how much of the plot the building's footprint (its ground floor outline) can occupy, typically 50-70% depending on plot category, leaving the rest for setbacks, light and open space. FAR (Floor Area Ratio) instead limits the total floor area across every storey combined, as a multiple of the plot area. A plot can satisfy its coverage limit but still be over FAR if too many floors are stacked, or under-build its FAR while staying well inside the coverage limit.

Nepal's National Building Code and most municipal building bylaws set a higher ground-coverage allowance, commonly around 70%, for smaller residential plots (roughly up to 250 m², about 2,691 sq ft), stepping down to around 60% for larger residential plots and around 50% for non-residential (commercial/institutional) plots. This calculator hardcodes those three standard figures as a quick planning check; your municipality's actual table may differ slightly.

No. This is an indicative planning check only, using standard national-code figures. Actual ground-coverage ratio and FAR limits vary by municipality, the width of the adjoining road, the plot's zoning and required setbacks, and can only be confirmed and approved through the naksha pass (building permit) process at your local municipality's building/engineering section.

The calculator divides the max total buildable area (plot area × FAR) by the max ground-floor footprint (plot area × coverage %), then rounds to one decimal place. This is only a rough indication of how many storeys the FAR allows if every floor matched the maximum footprint; real designs often use a smaller footprint on upper floors or add setbacks, which changes the achievable floor count.

Pick Residential ≤250m² or Residential >250m² for a house plot based on your plot's actual area (shown in both sq ft and m² above the category selector), or Non-residential for commercial, institutional or mixed-use land, which typically gets a lower coverage allowance. If you are unsure which category your municipality applies, check its building bylaw table or ask the building permit section directly.