Things you must know about floor area ratio

Things you must know about floor area ratio SPN

The floor area ratio (FAR) or floor space ratio (FSR) is the link between the total amount of usable floor area that a building has and the total area of the lot on which the building stands. It further mentions the maximum floor space that can be constructed on a given piece of land. It is also known as Floor Space Index (FSI) in some markets.

The Formula for the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Is

Floor Area Ratio= Total Building Floor Area divided by Gross Lot Area

The FAR of a project is the total floor area of the building (including the space covered by all the floors in the building) divided by the area of land on which the project is being constructed. The FAR is decided by municipal corporations or the development authority, according to the Development Control Regulations (DCR) and varies from one city or even locality, to another.

For example a builder has got a plot of 1,000 sq m and the permissible FAR, as per the development plans, is 1.5. He is allowed to construct a building on 1,500 sqmt of this plot. This is the ratio of the total floor area in the building divided with the total plot area.

The population dynamics and construction activities varies from city to city hence FAR is different in several cities, municipality, locality or even depending upon the nature of land- industrial, residential, commercial, agricultural or non-agricultural. It also mostly depends on governmental regulations.

The value for FAR is decided by local municipal corporations, keeping in mind the density of the population, availability of open spaces, environmental impact of the project and preparedness in the eventuality of a natural disaster. Although the methods to calculate FAR varies from one city to another, but the value generally does not exceed 2.5.

Now talking about FAR violation by a developer, it usually comes to light only when the relevant development authority issues a completion certificate. Therefore, the onus lies with the homebuyers to always ask for the completion certificate, before buying a property in the project. If a buyer buys a property under a project which has violated the FAR regulations of the city/locality, then he/she could face some serious challenges.

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