Karnataka govt excludes stilt floors from building height

Bengaluru: In a move aimed at encouraging parking within private premises, the state government has introduced a major change that excludes stilt floors used for parking while calculating a building’s total height.

What's more, the height of stilt floors has now been capped at three metres, replacing an earlier proposal to permit 4.5 metres, which was seen as vulnerable to commercial misuse. 

The final notification, issued on August 1, covers several aspects, including building height, stilt floor use and setback norms. The revised rules — which came a month after the draft notification was released seeking public suggestions — apply to properties within BBMP and BDA limits. 

So far, the permissible stilt floor height was 2.4 metres, which many found inadequate especially because the water and sanitary pipes fixed on the ceilings were often damaged by vehicles. 

The draft suggested increasing it to 4.5 metres to accommodate stacked or mechanical parking systems. Based on public feedback, the final rule has capped the height at 3 metres. 

Another important change mentioned in the notification is that the stilt floor — to be measured from floor to floor — will be excluded from the calculation of a building’s total height. This change effectively allows property owners to build stilt (ground) plus four floors, as the stilt is not included in that measurement. The overall height of buildings remains capped at 15 metres. 

Given the potential misuse due to the lack of enforcement in Bengaluru, the notification has prescribed certain conditions: stilt floors must be used solely for parking. If there are violations, the government has empowered the civic body to deny water and electricity connections for residential buildings and cancellation of trade licenses for commercial establishments. 

Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath said the changes were aimed at discouraging parking of vehicles on roads. 

"We have exempted the stilt floor from total height calculation to make it attractive for the property owners to create parking space within his or her compound. The earlier proposal for a 4.5-metre stilt was dropped as many raised concerns about potential misuse,” he told DH. 

Besides dealing with stilt floors, the final notification has also extended setback norms — earlier relaxed to residential buildings — to all buildings on plots not exceeding 4,000 square metres. 

Under the revised rules, the front setback has been reduced from five metres to 1.5 metres, while the rear and sides must have a minimum setback of 1 metre. Setback requirements for taller buildings remain unchanged. 

Advocate Suhas Ananth Rajkumar pointed out a potential contradiction in the notification. 

"One clause caps the building height at 15 metres, while another excludes the stilt floor from this calculation. This could be interpreted as permitting stilt plus five floors, resulting in a total height of up to 18 metres. If this isn’t the government’s intention, it must issue a clarification," he said.