If you own plots in different schemes, the rules feel like different countries. LDA thinks in percentages and floor-area ratios. CDA thinks in setbacks. Bahria publishes its own SOPs that depend on which government authority its phase falls under. Same 10 marla, three different houses.
LDA private schemes
LDA's 2019 regulations, amended in 2021, are percentage-driven: 80% ground coverage under 5 marla, sliding to 55% at 2 kanal. The 2021 amendment is the big one — it lifted 10-marla-and-larger plots to 4 storeys and 45 feet, and started counting basements inside the floor-area ratio (1:2.3 on 5 marla, 1:2.8 on 10). That last change surprises people: a basement now eats your upstairs allowance. Verify the current consolidated text at your scheme office; the amendment column is what most offices apply today.
CDA Islamabad
CDA publishes no coverage percentage for houses at all. Your buildable area is the plot minus the setback schedule — on a kanal that is roughly 13 feet front, 8 rear and 5 on each side — with two storeys and 30 feet of height. Basements are allowed and do not count toward area, but exposure is limited and, since 2026, new approvals need a rainwater harvesting pit. The schedule circulates as a scanned document, so treat every secondary source (including us) as a starting point.
Bahria Town
Bahria's own Building Control SOPs govern design approval, and the numbers differ by jurisdiction. In RDA-side Rawalpindi phases: 80% coverage on 5 marla with FAR 1:2.4 and 38 feet of height — and the basement counts in FAR. In CDA-side phases it flips to the setback system at 30 feet. Bahria Lahore has no public primary document; the Design Wing's word is the rule. Our estimator carries each row with a confidence label — official, secondary or unverified — so you can see exactly how solid the number constraining your design is.