Landed house planning controls

Minimum plot size and width

• Detached house (bungalow): 400 m² (about 4,300 sq ft), at least 10 m wide.
• Good Class Bungalow: 1,400 m² (about 15,070 sq ft), at least 18.5 m wide and 30 m deep.
• Semi-detached and corner terrace house: 200 m² (about 2,150 sq ft), at least 8 m wide.
• Intermediate terrace house: 150 m² (about 1,600 sq ft), at least 6 m wide.
• Terrace II, a smaller terrace type: 80 m², at least 6 m wide for an intermediate unit and 8 m for a corner unit.

Setbacks and site coverage

• Front: 7.5 m from the front boundary for detached, semi-detached and Terrace I houses, or more on a category 2 road. Terrace II houses keep a 2 m front setback.
• Side and rear: 2 m, or 3 m for a Good Class Bungalow. An intermediate terrace house has no side setback.
• Site coverage for a detached house: at most 40% under URA’s sub-control and 50% overall, or 35% and 45% for a Good Class Bungalow.

Storeys, height and the building envelope

• Each landed housing area allows 2 or 3 storeys. The limit is the area’s 2-storey or 3-storey control, or the storey height the Master Plan prescribes for the plot, whichever is lower.
• Since 11 May 2015 the house must fit inside a building envelope: 12 m high in a 2-storey area and 15.5 m high in a 3-storey area, measured from the platform level.
• An attic and mezzanines may sit inside the envelope. A roof terrace must be at least 3 m below the top of the envelope.
• A lift overrun may rise up to 1 m above the height limit.

Strata landed houses

Strata landed housing is strata-titled terrace, semi-detached or detached houses sharing one development site and its communal facilities, such as a cluster housing estate. Each unit must touch the ground over at least 50 m² of its footprint, and the building envelope rules apply as for other landed houses. Inside a development approved as a condominium, a strata landed house can be bought by a foreigner without SLA approval.

Conserved houses

A house in a conservation area, including some Good Class Bungalow areas, needs URA’s Conservation Permission before any additions and alterations begin. URA’s conservation guidelines for bungalows say what must be kept; ask URA when you are unsure whether works need permission.

Look up your plot

1. Open URA SPACE and search the address.
2. Under Control Plans, turn on the Landed Housing Area layer to see the plot’s designated landed housing area, such as a 2-storey, 3-storey or Good Class Bungalow area.
3. Check the Master Plan zoning and any conservation area for the plot too, then confirm with an architect before buying for a rebuild.

Before you rely on this

This guide sums up the official rules and is not legal advice. The authority named decides each case, so check your own plot and plans with it or with a professional.

Questions

Sources

• URA: Prevailing planning controls for land-titled homes (opens in a new tab)
• URA: Clarifications on landed housing guidelines (opens in a new tab)
• URA: Strata landed housing (opens in a new tab)
• URA: Conservation guidelines (opens in a new tab)
• URA SPACE map (opens in a new tab)

Rules and fees change. Check the linked official pages before you commit, and ask a lawyer about your own sale or purchase.

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