ᐅ What does it mean: Floor area ratio 0.4, plot ratio 1.2, number of storeys II - II?

Hello everyone,

I found a development plan while searching for a plot, but I cannot interpret it.

The following is specified for the plot:

Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 1.2
Number of floors II - III

1) What does this mean?
2) Would the Viebrockhaus Maxime 300 be considered a two-story house or just one story?

Thank you very much and best regards,
Yavuz

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Thank you!
Building Expert

Hello,

juus1 schrieb:

Floor area ratio 0.4
Plot ratio 1.2
Stories II - III

1) What does this mean?

**Floor area ratio means footprint and arearatio, plot ratio means floorarearatio. These are figures indicating the maximum allowed extent of building use on the plot.

The floor area ratio specifies how many square meters of footprint are allowed per square meter of plot area, so in your case 40% of the plot area. The plot ratio indicates how many square meters of floor area are permitted per square meter of plot area, in your case 120% of the plot area. This includes the floor areas of all full stories of the building.

It appears to be a plot suitable for multi-story residential construction.

juus1 schrieb:

2) Would the Viebrockhaus Maxime 300 be a two-story house or only one story?

This example is a classic single-story building.


**Source: my website

Regards, Bauexperte

Hello,

thank you for the quick response. We are talking about a plot of land with a size of 400 sqm (4,306 sq ft). That means I am allowed to build on an area of 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft). Does this also include the terrace and the driveway to the garage, for example?

I understood the 1.2 (480 sqm (5,167 sq ft) for a 400 sqm (4,306 sq ft) plot) as meaning that with 0.4 and 2 floors I cannot reach this, but with 3 floors I can actually have 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) of floor area per floor. Wow.

Thanks again for the insightful and, above all, very clear explanation. But I still have one question:

I have read that by increasing the knee wall height, such a house can be considered a two-story building. Is that correct?

The terrace and driveway each count as half. A floor area ratio of 0.4 is already quite good. You can fit a lot on that.

Your Maxime 300 measures 8.6 * 11.6 m (28.2 * 38.1 ft) = 100 m² (1,076 sq ft).

So you are allowed to build on an additional 60 m² (646 sq ft) with other structures, or 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) for driveway, terrace, etc. However, your plot isn’t particularly large. I would be more concerned about the 3-meter (10 ft) setback from the property boundary that may apply.

Two full stories, for example, correspond to a house type called a “town villa,” where there are no sloping roofs visible on the upper floor. The exact definition is different, though, as there can also be two full stories with sloping roofs.

juus1 schrieb:

I have read that by increasing the knee wall height, such a house can be turned into a two-story building. Is that correct?

Yes. Whenever the usable floor area in the attic exceeds 75% of the ground floor area due to a high knee wall or dormer, it is considered a two-story house.



Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte

Thanks for the reply, Payday. I am actually struggling to find a plot with 400 sqm (4300 sq ft) and the proper frontage to build such a detached house. Having a large garden is important to me, but you can’t have everything. If I allow 3 m (10 feet) on each side plus a 9 m (30 feet) wide house frontage, then I need a plot that is at least 15 m (50 feet) wide. 400 sqm (4300 sq ft) would be 15 m (50 feet) by 26 m (85 feet). If I subtract the house length of 11.6 m (38 feet) from the 26 m (85 feet), 14 m (46 feet) remain. If you add a terrace of 2.5 to 3 m (8 to 10 feet), only 11 m (36 feet) remain. That leaves a garden size of 11 m by 15 m, so 165 sqm (1775 sq ft). I’m not sure if 15 m (50 feet) garden depth is much once everything is finished?

Here is an excerpt from the NRW regulations regarding storeys:

(5) Full storeys are storeys where the ceiling top edge protrudes on average more than 1.60 m (5.25 feet) above ground level and have a minimum height of 2.30 m (7.5 feet). A recessed top storey (setback storey) compared to the building’s external walls counts as a full storey only if it meets this height over more than two-thirds of the floor area of the storey below. A storey with sloping roof surfaces is a full storey if it meets this height over more than three-quarters of its floor area. The height of storeys is measured from top edge of the floor to the top edge of the floor of the storey above, or in storeys with roof surfaces up to the top edge of the roof covering.

(6) Storeys above ground level are storeys where the ceiling top edge protrudes on average more than 1.60 m (5.25 feet) above ground level. Cavities between the top ceiling and the roof that cannot be used as living space are not considered storeys.


I am learning, but it’s complicated, and it’s still a huge amount of mostly new and unfamiliar information.