Tamil Nadu Raises Non-High-Rise Building Height Limit to 19.5 Metres

Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu government has raised the height threshold for non-high-rise buildings from 18.30 metres to 19.50 metres and revised the road-width criteria under which certain residential plots can be treated as commercially zoned. The Housing and Urban Development Department notified the amendments to the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, through G.O. Ms. No. 194, published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary on October 26, 2026.

The amended tables under Rules 35 and 37 specify a maximum of five floors above a stilt or five floors above a ground floor for the categories covered by those entries, within the 19.50-metre height limit. For high-rise buildings under Rule 39, the revised table sets maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) values of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.25 for minimum road widths of 12, 15 and 18 metres, respectively. FSI measures the floor area counted under the rules relative to the plot area. Minimum setbacks and spacing between blocks range from 7 metres for buildings up to 30 metres tall to 16 metres for those above 87 metres.

Commercial zoning and road access

Under amended Rule 16(6), sites designated for Residential or Primary Residential use in a Master Plan or Detailed Development Plan are deemed commercially zoned if they both abut and gain access from a road at least 12 metres wide. For Mixed Residential sites covered by the amended Rule 17 entry, the corresponding minimum is 9 metres in Coimbatore and elsewhere outside the Chennai Metropolitan Area, where it is 12 metres.

Under Rule 35, the qualifying road width must be available continuously for 100 metres, measured on one side of the site or across both sides, excluding the plot frontage. The rule calls for an intersection within that stretch. Where there is no such intersection, the qualifying width must extend continuously for at least 250 metres in municipal corporation areas such as Coimbatore and in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, and for at least 100 metres in other areas.

The notification sets a minimum road width of 15 metres for exhibition halls, community halls and Kalyanamandapams in municipal corporations and municipalities, and 12 metres in town and village panchayats. Conference halls, dedicated multistorey parking facilities and air-conditioned single-screen cinemas require 12-metre roads. Star hotels, multiplexes and malls require 18-metre roads.

EV charging, parking and accessibility

Residential buildings covered by the amended parking rules must provide the electrical infrastructure needed to install EV charging points at every required car and two-wheeler parking space, subject to the exemptions specified in the notification. In buildings with more than 50 dwelling units, infrastructure must also support fast charging at a minimum of 50% of the car and two-wheeler spaces earmarked for visitors. For IT offices, IT-enabled services and bioinformatics centres, the rules prescribe one car space for every 75 sq. m. of floor area or part thereof and one two-wheeler space for every 50 sq. m. or part thereof.

The amendments prescribe clear floor space and knee clearance at accessible washbasins, along with grab bars on both sides of accessible toilets. The applicable facilities for persons with disabilities, older people and children must be completed and verified before a Completion Certificate is issued. The rules also permit open kitchens that connect directly to an adjoining living, dining or other habitable space.

Hotels and restricted development zones

Under amended Rule 39, hotels and lodges must provide one dormitory bed for guests’ drivers for every car parking space required for guest rooms, along with one separate toilet and one separate bathroom for every eight beds or part thereof. The dormitory may be on the premises or within a 250-metre radius. The rule also permits podiums up to 15 metres high for high-rise developments, subject to setback requirements and applicable parking standards.

In Restricted Development Zones within aquifer recharge areas, the amendments specify permitted uses and retain a 14-metre height ceiling for listed small developments. For those developments, the minimum plot size is 80 sq. m. in Natham and designated Economically Weaker Section areas or plots, and 220 sq. m. in other areas within the zone. The notification also revises standards for swimming pool decks and walkways.