Kothi design in Punjab

Three rulebooks cover most kothi plots. Find yours before anyone draws a room.

Chandigarh is a Union Territory with its own rules: see kothi design in Chandigarh.

Figures from the 2018 bye-laws and the 2021 rules as first notified. The 2021 rules have since been amended, most recently in July and September 2026, and the Local Government department lists later amendments to the bye-laws, so we check the current gazette text for every plot.

Municipal areas: Bye-Laws 2018

Height limit 15 m, excluding parapet, water tank and mumty. Plots over 200 sq m also need a 3 m rear setback. Bye-Laws 2018, clause 4.4.4.

Sector plots: PUDA Building Rules 2021

• Ground plus two floors, excluding basement, up to 11 m above plinth in the 2021 text; a July 2026 report gives 13 m, so we confirm at sanction
• FAR up to 2.1
• Coverage 70% up to 150 sq m, then a sliding scale
• Front wall 0.9 m solid plus 0.9 m grille; side and rear walls up to 1.83 m

Basements

Municipal plots may have one basement (plots over 750 sq yd may add more, for parking only); used for storage, it does not count towards FAR. Sector plots get one basement within the ground coverage, 2.44 m from the boundary wall unless no neighbouring building stands that close, and a habitable one counts towards FAR. See our basement, stilt and setback guide.

On the revenue standard used in Indian Punjab, 1 marla is 272.25 sq ft and 20 marla make 1 kanal of 605 sq yd.

Punjab revenue units, converted at 1 sq yd to 0.836 sq m.

In the tricity, sector plots sold as “1 kanal” are often 500 sq yd, the figure our Chandigarh cost guide uses, while the revenue kanal is 605 sq yd. On a municipal plot under the 2018 bye-laws, that difference crosses a row of the table: about 418 sq m sits in the 300-500 row, while about 506 sq m falls in the next, with lower coverage and a deeper front setback. Design from the registry area and a fresh measurement, not the plot's name. Tricity sector plots follow their own units: see GMADA's 25 sq yd marla and Chandigarh's plot categories.

What fits on a 10 marla or 1 kanal kothi?

Front width shapes the plan more than area. On a 25 or 30 ft front, gate, porch and entrance share a few metres, so parking goes in front, living behind and bedrooms above. A 40 ft front leaves room for a lawn, a side porch and a drawing room facing the street. Decide basement and stilt in week one.

The naksha (कोठी का नक्शा, ਕੋਠੀ ਨਕਸ਼ਾ) is the sanction set your architect prepares: site plan, floor plans, sections and elevations. Its route depends on the rulebook.

Then build from complete working drawings, not the sanction set.

Yes, if the build runs on documents and evidence rather than phone calls.

Doaba(Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) is often called Punjab's NRI hub; Rajesh Vora's Everyday Monuments documents its emigrant homes and their sculpted rooftop water tanks.

Ownership

NRIs and OCIs may buy property other than agricultural land, farmhouses or plantations, paying through NRE, FCNR(B) or NRO accounts (RBI).

Power of attorney

One signed abroad can be stamped within three months of reaching India (Stamp Act, section 18). Keep it specific to the plot.

Payments

Against architect-certified stages, with weekly fixed-position photos and a video walk in your time zone.

State support

A State Commission for NRIs, NRI police stations and a Special Civil Court for NRIs at Jalandhar.

Designing a kothi that stays locked most of the year

The Tribune has reported on Doaba villages where large NRI houses stand empty most of the year, kept by elderly relatives or caretakers. Plan for that:

• A guest wing that locks off while the family is away
• A caretaker room by the gate, with its own bath
• A ground floor where parents live on one level
• Stone, render and metal outside: nothing to polish
• Solar power, water storage and drip-fed planting
• Grilles and gates drawn into the elevation

Let the gate, porch and roofline carry the identity.

The two gates, the car porch and the front wall are what the street sees first, so we draw them with the house, not after it. The roofline is the other signature: Doaba's emigrant homes are known for their sculpted rooftop water tanks, and a tank, stair and solar frame still need a planned place on the roof.

For materials, proportion and climate, see our kothi elevation ideas, and resolve Vastu at planning, not after.

Our published 2026 tricity bands are the reference. Rates elsewhere in Punjab vary, so we price each kothi from its specification.

Quality standard

₹2,200 to ₹2,800 per sq ft

Premium

₹2,800 to ₹4,000 per sq ft

Luxury

₹4,000 and above per sq ft

These cover structure and finishes. The plot is extra, and interiors, landscape and compound walls typically add 25 to 40%. Basements, stone elevations, imported finishes and village sites without services push a project up the bands.

Two studios and one team, accountable from plot review to handover.

Established in 2012, Black Ant Studio has delivered more than 100 projects, with work recognised at Design Unfiltered, Haryana Edition, and Smartex. Ar. Dipesh Panghal has practised since 2013 and was Partner Director at DDIR Architecture Studio, Bangalore, from 2019 to 2025. We take on kothi commissions across Punjab from Mohali, with milestone site visits and weekly reports, and we supervise the site with our own team.

1. 01Plot reviewRegistry, measurement and rulebook.
2. 02Plan and VastuLayout around family, sun and gate.
3. 03NakshaFiled by the right route.
4. 04Working drawingsStructure, services and finishes, before building.
5. 05ConstructionStage payments, site visits, weekly reports.

These published homes of ours are in Hisar, Haryana:

Building in the tricity? See kothi design in Mohali and our Chandigarh studio. In Haryana, see the Hisar studio.