ᐅ Floor plan of a multi-family house with 4 residential units

Good evening,
I am planning to build a multi-family house with 4 apartments about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Munich.
The house is designed to be 16 x 12.5 m (52.5 x 41 feet) and will include 4 apartments, each with 3 rooms and approximately 75 sqm (807 sq ft).

A basement is also planned, with space for the heating system, laundry rooms, and storage rooms for each apartment.

Unfortunately, the municipality requires 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit.

Plot size: 600 sqm (6,458 sq ft) available

House type: solid construction with 2 full floors and a basement
Heating: air heat pump
Ventilation system: yes
Photovoltaics: planned

What do you think of the floor plan? Suggestions for improvements and criticism are welcome.

Best regards
Robert

I don’t fundamentally find it wrong.

However, I think the bathroom is quite small for a family bathroom. Around 7–8 m² (75–86 sq ft) would feel more comfortable. Is there enough length on one wall to fit both a bathtub and a shower? I couldn’t find the dimension of the longer bathroom wall.

Otherwise, I would probably have trouble imagining the furnishing of the living area. Most families have a TV with seating or a corner sofa opposite it. I wouldn’t know how to arrange that without blocking the door to the veranda.

Thank you for your suggestions. Yes, the bathroom is indeed very small. So far, only the draft exists. There is no detailed plan yet.
I haven’t given much thought to the furniture arrangement or anything like that.
For now, I am waiting to see if the local building authority approves the preliminary decision.
The biggest issues are the parking spaces and the fact that the house may be longer than 16 meters (52.5 feet).
According to a friend of mine (a civil engineer), who also drew the floor plan for me, the setback on the neighbor’s side (north side) would then have to be 5 meters (16.4 feet) instead of 3 meters (9.8 feet). Unfortunately, that is not possible.

I would skip the bathtub, as hardly anyone uses one these days. Since this is near Munich, you should be able to rent out the apartment immediately. The floor plan is basically solid and practical for an apartment, with minimal hallway space. Personally, I would make both terrace doors operable, so you can also place part of your L-shaped sofa in front of the right door. In my opinion, the kitchen takes up far too much space from the rather small living room. A kitchen unit along the exterior wall of about 4m (13 feet) should be sufficient. Otherwise, the sense of space is completely lost. And the 8 parking spaces provided by the municipality are clearly a joke. I would definitely ask again whether at least 2 of them could be bought out for cash. Because the outdoor area is also missing a bicycle storage room for tenants. After all, who wants to carry their bikes, strollers, or walkers down to the basement? I would also make the entrance to the apartments barrier-free (for example, from the other side near the parking spaces, judging by the slope). This would also attract a wider audience for the two ground floor units (seniors with money who are looking for low-barrier housing).

Robii84 schrieb:

Thanks for your suggestions. Yes, the bathroom is really quite small. So far, there is only a draft. No detailed plan yet.
I haven’t given much thought to the furniture arrangement yet either.
For now, I’m waiting to see if the building authority approves the preliminary decision.
The biggest issues are the parking spaces and the fact that the house may be longer than 16 meters (52 feet).
According to a friend of mine (a civil engineer) who also drew the floor plan, the distance to the neighbor (north side) must then be 5 meters (16 feet) instead of 3 meters (10 feet). Unfortunately, that's not possible.

As for the setback requirements, the Bavarian building code usually applies if the zoning plan (building permit / planning permission) does not specify anything, although I don’t know your zoning plan, of course. Then, Article 6, paragraphs 4 and 5 apply. I would calculate it like this: 6.2 x 0.4 + 2.53 x 0.4 ≈ 3.5 meters (11 feet). Unless paragraph 5a applies to your case, though I’m hearing that for the first time and find it completely absurd.
Also, I would recommend planning for balconies with a minimum depth of 2 meters (6.5 feet). Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, having more outdoor space has become significantly more important for many tenants.

@Sunshine387 As far as I know, it’s called the 16-meter privilege... I need to ask my acquaintance again.
There is no zoning plan.
I agree with you on many points. The kitchen area must be placed against the wall that separates the apartments.
A larger balcony is also good, but it could become an issue because otherwise, the tenants would practically be sitting on the street 😀

I have planned an exterior door on the east side to the basement. This way, bikes can be rolled into the basement.

The municipality is not flexible regarding parking spaces. However, I will probably only build 5 parking spots, and the remaining area will be lawn. It can be used as overflow parking if needed 😉