4 Kanal House Design
Avenir Developments designs and builds houses on 4 Kanal plots, across Lahore and Islamabad.
4 Kanal House Design and Plans in Lahore and Islamabad
A 4 Kanal plot is 18,000 sq ft, or 2,000 sq yd. In DHA Lahore you will not find one on a standard allotment. The largest standard residential plot there is 2 Kanal, so a 4 Kanal house stands on two 2 Kanal plots joined under Regulation 8, with its ground floor held to 63% of the land.
We design houses at this scale in DHA Lahore, DHA Islamabad and on CDA-regulated land in Islamabad. Every plan starts from the plot’s route to 4 Kanal and the envelope that route allows. It moves through the brief and the submission set in the authority’s own format, with structure and services coordinated before the elevation is frozen. Construction and Design + Build follow in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi if you want one team to carry it through.
- Plot area
- 18,000 sq ft
- In yards and marla
- 2,000 sq yd, 80 marla
- Two DHA Lahore 2 Kanal plots joined side to side
- 200 × 90 ft or 150 × 120 ft
Offices at 139 CCA, DHA Phase 5, Lahore and 101 Luxus Mall, Gulberg Greens, Islamabad.
Where a 4 Kanal plot comes from, and which rules follow
The plot’s origin decides the rulebook, and the rulebook decides the house. Four routes account for the 4 Kanal sites we are asked to design. The DHA Lahore clauses below are set out in full on our DHA Lahore building regulations page.
| Route | What the regulations say | What it means for the design |
|---|---|---|
| Two 2 Kanal plots joined in DHA Lahore | DHA may, at its discretion, join two 2 Kanal plots side to side, up to a maximum of 4 Kanal. The ground floor footprint may not exceed 63% of the joined plot. Regulation 8(a), 2026 edition. | One house on 18,000 sq ft. The open land can be planned as one piece instead of setback strips. |
| Plots joined in DHA Islamabad or DHA Rawalpindi | Adjacent plots may be combined with specific permission into one unit of up to 4 Kanal, if the whole parcel is in single ownership. Once built on, it cannot be subdivided unless the building is taken down. Regulations 2.3 and 6.2.1, 2022 regulations updated 2023. | The covered-area standard for the combined plot is agreed with DHA Building Control before the concept is drawn. |
| A 2,000 sq yd plot under CDA’s Islamabad regulations | Plots may be amalgamated with prior approval. A house with more than 10,000 sq ft of covered area may take up to six weeks to approve and is referred to CDA’s Design Vetting Committee. Regulations 2.3.1 and 3.7.1, ICT Building Control Regulations 2020. | The design is presented to a committee, so the drawing set has to explain itself. |
| An older or non-standard plot | DHA Lahore recognises non-standard plots created by adjustments to the layout. Their permissible covered area is proportionate to plot size, and the required open area is kept clear in total rather than as uniform strips. Regulations 4(b) and 22(b), 2026 edition. | The envelope is worked out from your exact dimensions, then confirmed at scrutiny. |
A 4 Kanal plot inside a farmhouse scheme is a different case. Farmhouse schemes publish their own coverage and height rules, and the brief changes with them. That work is covered on our farmhouse design page.
Check the unit before you compare anything
4 Kanal is 80 marla, 2,000 sq yd, 18,000 sq ft, or about 1,672 square metres. DHA Lahore defines a kanal as 20 marla, 500 sq yd or 4,500 sq ft (Regulation 2(b)(51)). If your land record uses the older Punjab marla of 272.25 sq ft, the same 4 Kanal is 21,780 sq ft, or 2,420 sq yd. That is where the 2,420 sq yd figure in some guides comes from, and it is 21% more land than a DHA Lahore 4 Kanal. Plans sold as a “2000 m² 4 Kanal house” describe a different plot again. Check the basis in your papers before comparing any covered-area figure.
What an amalgamated 4 Kanal plot allows in DHA Lahore
Two standard 2 Kanal plots joined side to side, 18,000 sq ft. DHA Lahore Construction and Development Regulations, 2026 edition, published 20 April 2026. Porches are excluded from every figure.
Ground floor footprint cap
63%
11,340 sq ftof the 18,000 sq ft plot
Regulation 8(a)(3)
- First floor
- 8,845 sq ft
- 78% of the ground floor
- Reg 27(a)(3)(f)
- Ground and first together
- 20,185 sq ft
- The two rules above, combined
- Derived
- Basement, maximum
- 11,340 sq ft
- One storey, up to the allowable covered area, less the porch
- Regs 27(a)(1), 35(a)
- Stair mumtee
- 300 sq ft
- 1 to 4 Kanal. Lift machine room 75 sq ft, up to 45 ft
- Reg 33(a)
- Height
- 39 ft
- From road crown, with mumtee and parapet. 32 ft without. No second floor
- Reg 23(a)
- Inter-floor spaces
- Two
- Each up to 40% of a liveable space, 8 ft clear
- Reg 32(d)
- Plinth, maximum
- 5 ft 6 in
- Above road crown, plots of 1 Kanal and above
- Reg 28(a)
- Swimming pool
- Permitted
- Not on the roof. 10 ft privacy wall
- Reg 34
- Standby generator
- 25 KVA
- Residential maximum
- Reg 58(a)(7)
Open land after the footprint: 6,660 sq ft, in one piece if the design wants it.
Not published in the 2026 edition for a 4 Kanal house: a clear-space row or a fire-safety schedule. Both are settled with DHA Building Control at scrutiny.
Send the plot numbers before anyone draws a line
Tell us the phase, the plot numbers and whether both plots are in one name. We will tell you which route your 4 Kanal is on and what envelope follows from it.
What to send
- Society, phase and plot numbers
- Plot dimensions from the site plan
- Whether both plots are in one name
Joining two 2 Kanal plots does not double the house
Owners often expect amalgamation to buy covered area. Under the 2026 edition it buys land.
Two separate 2 Kanal plots of 100 × 90 ft each allow a ground floor of about 5,879 sq ft once their clear spaces are left, 11,759 sq ft between them. Join them and the 63% cap allows 11,340 sq ft. The first floor follows the same 78% rule either way, so the joined plot ends up about 745 sq ft smaller above ground.
What changes is the open land. On two plots, the 6,241 sq ft left open is cut into front, rear and side strips, including a doubled strip down the middle where the plots meet. On one plot, 6,660 sq ft can sit where the plan wants it: a single lawn, a pool court behind its privacy wall, a service yard out of the guests’ sight line. That is the reason to amalgamate, and it is a good one.
| Above ground | Two 2 Kanal houses | One joined 4 Kanal house |
|---|---|---|
| Ground floor | 11,759 sq ft | 11,340 sq ft |
| First floor at 78% | 9,172 sq ft | 8,845 sq ft |
| Ground and first | 20,930 sq ft | 20,185 sq ft |
| Stair mumtee | 2 × 300 sq ft | 300 sq ft |
| Open land | 6,241 sq ft, in strips | 6,660 sq ft, can be one piece |
| Houses | Two, each saleable | One. Later subdivision is discouraged and costs a double fee (Regulation 9) |
Clear spaces on a 100 × 90 ft 2 Kanal plot: front 15 ft 9 in, rear 8 ft 4½ in, each side 5 ft 4½ in (Regulation 22(a)). Pairs of 75 × 120 ft plots show a gap of about 600 sq ft. Porches are excluded from all figures.
If one of the plots is already built on
DHA Lahore will not amalgamate two built houses, though one house and one open plot can be joined (Regulation 8(b)). Where the owners are first-blood relatives there is a lighter option: one built house may use up to two adjacent empty plots as a lawn, provided the wall and the plot are restored before any sale other than a Hibba transfer (Regulation 64). If you decide on two houses after all, our 2 Kanal house design page covers that route.
Two shapes of 4 Kanal plot, and the plan each one wants
The shape of a joined plot is fixed by the plots you started with. Regulation 8(a)(3) joins two 2 Kanal plots side to side, so a DHA Lahore 4 Kanal is either 200 × 90 ft or 150 × 120 ft. The area is the same. The house is not.
200 × 90 ft, from two 100 × 90 ft plots
Long and shallow. The house runs along the road, so the plan is organised in bands across its length: service and staff at one end, formal rooms and guests in the middle, the family at the other end. Keep the open land together at one side and it holds a lawn and a pool court instead of four thin strips. The difficult part is the front. An elevation this long needs a clear centre and resolved ends, or it reads as a row of houses.
- Frontage
- 200 ft
- Depth
- 90 ft
- Footprint drawn
- 150 × 75.6 ft, 11,340 sq ft
- Side garden drawn
- 46 × 90 ft
150 × 120 ft, from two 75 × 120 ft plots
Deeper and closer to square. A courtyard plan fits here: the footprint wraps a court, which brings daylight into the middle of a deep plan and puts the family’s garden behind the house rather than in front of it. With 50 ft less frontage, a symmetrical elevation comes more easily. What it costs is distance from the gate. Rooms at the back of the court are a long walk from the drive, so the service route is planned first.
- Frontage
- 150 ft
- Depth
- 120 ft
- Footprint drawn
- U-plan, 11,340 sq ft
- Garden court drawn
- 42 × 55 ft
Both drawings are schematic zoning at the 63% cap, not plans, with the road along the bottom edge. Clear spaces for a joined plot are fixed by DHA Building Control at scrutiny. Plan sets sold online are often drawn for 100 × 180 ft; Regulation 8(a)(3) does not produce that shape in DHA Lahore, so a stock plan of those proportions will not sit on a joined plot there. On CDA land, 2,000 sq yd plots come in their own dimensions, and the plan starts from the site plan in your file.
One storey or two, and what the envelope holds
DHA Lahore allows a ground and a first floor, with no second floor (Regulation 23(a)), and one basement below. On a joined plot that means up to 11,340 sq ft on one storey or up to 20,185 sq ft on two, with the basement added to either.
A single storey at the cap is larger than a complete two-storey 2 Kanal house above ground, which tops out at about 10,465 sq ft on a 100 × 90 ft plot. It suits families who want no stairs in daily life. Two storeys do something one storey cannot: they let the footprint shrink below the cap and hand the difference back to the garden.
- One storey
- 11,340 sq ft above ground
- Two storeys
- 20,185 sq ft above ground
- Basement, below either
- Up to 11,340 sq ft less the porch
A worked example: seven bedroom suites on a joined DHA Lahore plot
Approximate areas in sq ft, to show proportions. This is a starting schedule for a family with live-in staff, not a standard plan. Porch excluded.
| Zone | What it holds | Sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Ground floor | ||
| Arrival and formal rooms | Entrance hall, drawing room, dining room, powder rooms | 2,700 |
| Guests | A guest suite reached from the hall, not through the family rooms | 700 |
| Family | Family lounge, study, and a parents’ suite with its own bath | 2,300 |
| Kitchen and service | Kitchen, dirty kitchen, stores, laundry, staff dining | 1,500 |
| Staff | Two staff rooms and a bath | 600 |
| Circulation | Halls, stairs, lift and walls | 2,000 |
| Ground floor total | Cap 11,340 | 9,800 |
| First floor | ||
| Principal suite | Bedroom, dressing room, bath and sitting room | 1,500 |
| Bedroom suites | Four, each with its own bath and dressing area | 3,000 |
| Upstairs lounge | A family room between the bedrooms | 700 |
| Circulation | Halls, stairs, lift and walls | 1,500 |
| First floor total | Limit 7,644, which is 78% of this ground floor | 6,700 |
| Basement | ||
| Leisure | Home cinema, gym, games room | 2,400 |
| Plant and stores | Pumps, tanks, electrical room, stores | 1,200 |
| Stairs, lift and light | Both stairs, the lift, and a sunken lightwell | 600 |
| Basement total | Limit 11,340, less the porch | 4,200 |
| Covered area, with the 300 sq ft mumtee | 21,000 | |
This schedule leaves 1,540 sq ft of the ground-floor cap unused, so the garden grows from 6,660 to 8,200 sq ft. More suites fit if the formal rooms shrink or the basement takes a guest unit around a sunken court. Fewer, larger suites fit the same envelope. The schedule is where the brief meets the rules, and we settle it before the concept is drawn.
What happens after you message us
- We ask for the authority, phase, plot numbers, dimensions and site plan.
- From those we identify the route, whether amalgamated, standard, non-standard or CDA, and the envelope that follows from it.
- A written scope for the design stage follows, with its inclusions and exclusions.
Six decisions that change once a house passes 20,000 sq ft
A 4 Kanal house is not a 2 Kanal house drawn twice. The plan gets long, the structure gets heavy, and the services stop fitting in the places a smaller house hides them.
Distance
On a 200 ft frontage, the furthest bedroom can sit further from the kitchen than the full width of a 2 Kanal plot. We plan in zones for family, guests, formal rooms and staff, so daily routes stay short and the long walks are the ones visitors take.
The lift
The shaft fixes the plan on every floor, so its position is settled at concept. The 2026 edition allows a lift machine room of 75 sq ft rising to 45 ft (Regulation 33(a)). A machine-room-less lift avoids that roof structure altogether.
Double height
Plots of 2 Kanal and above may have two inter-floor spaces, each up to 40% of a liveable space with 8 ft of clear height (Regulation 32(d)). They give a hall or a library real volume without a wasted floor. They may not hold a bath, kitchen, store or wardrobe.
The front
On a 200 × 90 ft plot the house can run most of the 200 ft. A classical front needs a strong centre and two resolved ends to hold that length. A modern one needs the line broken where the plan changes. On a 150 × 120 ft plot the front is shorter and the courtyard does more of the work.
Backup power
DHA Lahore limits a house’s standby generator to 25 KVA (Regulation 58(a)(7)). That will not carry a 20,000 sq ft house at full load. So backup is designed: which circuits stay live, where solar panels sit within the 10 ft rooftop limit for houses of 1 Kanal and above (Regulation 67), and where the batteries go.
Plant space
Outdoor air-conditioning units, pumps, tanks and the fire alarm panel all need room. Underground and overhead tanks are mandatory (Regulation 36). Annex C, which stops at 2 Kanal, puts the alarm panel near the main entry, and we keep that logic at 4 Kanal. Plant gets its own rooms and roof zones before the elevation is drawn, so none of it ends up on the front.
A basement as large as the ground floor, and what it needs
On a joined DHA Lahore plot the basement may match the allowable covered area, less the porch: up to 11,340 sq ft, more than the entire first floor. At that size it is a floor of the house and is designed as one. The 4 Kanal Classical House in DHA Lahore reached 23,400 sq ft of covered area with its basement included.
- Storeys below ground
- OneRegulation 35(a)
- Area
- Up to the allowable covered area, less the porch: 11,340 sq ft on a joined plotRegulation 27(a)(1)
- Neighbour’s dead wall
- Basement stops 5 ft short of itRegulation 27(a)(1)
- Ceiling height
- 9 to 14 ftRegulation 32(c)
- Excavation
- Up to 12 ft below the road crownRegulation 32(c)
- Plinth above the road crown
- Up to 5 ft 6 inRegulation 28(a)
- Overall height
- 39 ft to the top of the mumteeRegulation 23(a)
- Soil report
- Original, valid for one year, with the submissionRegulation 14
Light. Sunken courts and lightwells decide which basement rooms are liveable and which are plant. They cut into the garden above, so we place them at concept, not after.
Air. Rooms more than a lightwell away from open air need mechanical ventilation and dehumidification. That is designed with the MEP engineer from the first layout.
Water. Retaining walls and the basement slab are waterproofed as one system, specified in the drawings rather than left to site.
Escape. The 2026 edition publishes no fire-safety schedule for a 4 Kanal house, so escape and detection are agreed with DHA Building Control at scrutiny. We draw a second stair to open air at concept, because adding one later costs rooms.
From plot check to approved drawings
The design stages are ours to run. The approval clocks belong to the authority, and on a house this size they are worth knowing before you plan your year.
Plot check
Ownership, site plan and the amalgamation route. Nothing is drawn until this is settled.
Brief and area schedule
Rooms, staff, cars, guests, and what the basement is actually for.
Concept
Three options tested against the envelope, with the lift and the plant zones placed.
Design development
Structure and MEP coordinated. The 3D is fixed here, not after scrutiny.
Submission
DHA Lahore scrutinises within 21 working days, and a resubmission restarts the count (Regulation 16). DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi work to 15 working days (Regulation 8.7). Under CDA, a house above 10,000 sq ft may take six weeks and goes to the Design Vetting Committee (Regulation 3.7.1, 2020).
Working drawings
The construction set, detailed enough that any contractor prices the same house.
Once approved. DHA Lahore drawings are valid for two years, and the house must be completed within two years of approval (Regulation 17). DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi expect construction to start within three months and finish within three years (Regulations 8.9 and 8.31.1). CDA approvals are valid for five years (Regulation 2.2.5, 2020).
What we check before DHA Lahore scrutiny does
- Ground floor footprint within 63% of the joined plot (Regulation 8(a)(3))
- First floor within 78% of the ground floor (Regulation 27(a)(3)(f))
- Basement 5 ft clear of any dead wall, excavation within 12 ft (Regulations 27(a)(1), 32(c))
- Height within 39 ft and the mumtee within 300 sq ft (Regulations 23(a), 33(a))
- Architectural, structural, MEP and fire drawings, the 3D view and a soil report under a year old (Regulation 14)
Most delay on large houses is not scrutiny. It is the resubmission after an objection that coordinated drawings would have prevented.
Are both plots in one name yet?
Amalgamation starts with ownership. If the plots are in different names, or one already has a house on it, the route changes before the design does. Tell us which and we will set out what DHA will need.
Included in the design package, and left out of it
Both lists are issued in writing before you appoint us. The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions: they tell you what else to budget for and who else you will need.
Included
- A plot status check: ownership, site plans in the current owner’s name, and the amalgamation approval or the route to it
- Byelaw analysis for your plot, authority and phase, with the covered-area envelope worked out in square feet
- Three concept options, each tested against your brief and the envelope
- Design development, with the structural and MEP design coordinated before the elevation is frozen
- Exterior 3D views
- Landscape and pool layout, designed with the house rather than after it
- The submission set in the authority’s format. For DHA Lahore that means architectural, structural, MEP and fire safety drawings with the 3D view (Regulation 14)
- Working drawings for construction
Not included
- The soil investigation, which is commissioned from a testing firm. DHA Lahore asks for the original report, valid for one year (Regulation 14)
- Authority charges for scrutiny, amalgamation and completion
- Interior design, which is a separate appointment
- Construction, appointed separately or through Design + Build
Three revisions are included, and the written scope defines what counts as one.
The fee is paid in stages as the design moves forward, not as one sum at appointment.
Houses we have designed at and near this scale
Three projects that show the planning problems of a large plot. Client names are not published.
DHA Lahore
4 Kanal Classical House
23,400 sq ft of covered area, basement included, behind a classical front.
View the projectGulberg Greens, Islamabad
2 Kanal Neo Classical House
About 12,500 sq ft of covered area on a 2 Kanal plot, under a different rulebook from DHA Lahore.
View the projectRaiwind Road, Lahore
4 Acres Modern Farmhouse
A farmhouse rather than a residential plot, shown for its long routes and outdoor rooms.
View the projectThe three things that set the budget
Up to about 31,800 sq ft
The full covered-area envelope of a joined DHA Lahore plot: ground and first floors, one basement and the stair mumtee, less the porch (Regulations 8(a)(3), 27, 33(a) and 35(a), 2026 edition). How much of it you build is the first budget decision.
Three things set the construction budget far more than the plot does. The first is covered area, and the envelope is a ceiling rather than a target: a house built to 22,000 sq ft and one built to the full 31,800 are different budgets. The second is specification. Across 20,000 sq ft, every PKR 1,000 per sq ft of finish adds PKR 2 crore. The third is the list of items a smaller house can do without: a lift, a pool, basement ventilation, and 580 ft of boundary wall around a 200 × 90 ft plot.
We do not price a 4 Kanal house from a rate card. A construction figure follows the architectural, structural and MEP drawings, the soil report and a measured bill of quantities. Until then, our construction cost calculators will run your own covered area and specification, and the cost guide shows how the rates are built. The design fee is set out separately under architecture and design fees.
Get the covered area right first. The budget follows it.
Request an Architecture ConsultationEight questions to ask any architect before a 4 Kanal commission
The answers separate a firm that has worked at this scale from one that will learn on your plot. Ask them of us too. We answer in writing.
- How many houses above 15,000 sq ft of covered area have you designed?
- A good answer: A named project, its covered area, and a site visit if you ask for one.
- Who signs the submission drawings, and is that architect registered with the authority?
- A good answer: In DHA Lahore the signing architect must be registered with PCATP and with DHA (Regulation 2(b)(76)). Ask for both in writing.
- When do the structural and MEP engineers join?
- A good answer: Before the elevation is frozen. After a scrutiny objection is too late.
- Will you work out the envelope for my route before the concept?
- A good answer: Yes, in square feet, with the regulation cited.
- What is excluded from the fee?
- A good answer: A written list, not a verbal one.
- How are revisions counted and charged?
- A good answer: A number, and a definition of what counts as one.
- Could a contractor other than you price the drawings?
- A good answer: Yes. The drawings should hold any contractor to the same scope.
- How do you work with an owner who is abroad for most of the project?
- A good answer: Decisions recorded in writing, so they can be made across time zones.
Design only, or design and build with one team
Design only
You appoint us for the architecture and take the drawing set to a contractor of your choice. Design can be delivered anywhere in Pakistan. It suits owners who already trust a contractor, or whose plot is outside Lahore and Islamabad.
The wrong choice if no one on your side can read drawings on site.
Design + Build
One appointment for design and construction, in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The architect who drew the house checks that it is built to the drawings. How it works is set out on our Design + Build page.
The wrong choice if you are not ready to fix the specification before construction starts.
If you live abroad, the plot decides the service, not your address. A client in London with a 4 Kanal plot in DHA Lahore is a full Design + Build client, and the decisions are documented rather than verbal. See how overseas clients work with us.
4 Kanal house design: questions owners ask
How big is a 4 Kanal plot?
4 Kanal is 80 marla, 2,000 sq yd, 18,000 sq ft, or about 1,672 square metres, on the 225 sq ft marla that DHA Lahore uses (Regulation 2(b)(57)). On the older Punjab marla of 272.25 sq ft, the same 4 Kanal is 21,780 sq ft or 2,420 sq yd, which is why both figures appear in guides. Check which basis your papers use before comparing any covered-area figure.
Can I buy a 4 Kanal residential plot in DHA Lahore?
Not as a standard allotment. The 2026 edition of the DHA Lahore regulations makes 2 Kanal the largest standard residential plot (Regulation 4(a)). A 4 Kanal house in DHA Lahore is built on two 2 Kanal plots joined side to side under Regulation 8, at the discretion of DHA, or on an older non-standard plot whose covered area is set in proportion to its size.
What is the covered area of a 4 Kanal house in DHA Lahore?
On two joined 2 Kanal plots, the ground floor may cover up to 63% of 18,000 sq ft, which is 11,340 sq ft (Regulation 8(a)(3)). The first floor may be 78% of that, about 8,845 sq ft (Regulation 27(a)(3)(f)), giving about 20,185 sq ft above ground. A single basement of up to 11,340 sq ft, less the porch area, and a 300 sq ft stair mumtee can be added.
How many bedrooms fit in a 4 Kanal house?
On a joined DHA Lahore plot, seven bedroom suites and two staff rooms fit in about 21,000 sq ft of covered area including a basement, with part of the ground-floor cap left over for garden. Eight or more suites fit if the formal rooms shrink or the basement holds a guest unit. The brief sets the number of bedrooms. The regulations set the total area.
Can a 4 Kanal house be single storey?
Yes. On a joined DHA Lahore plot a single storey may cover up to 11,340 sq ft, which is 63% of the plot (Regulation 8(a)(3)), with a basement below if you want one. That is more than a complete two-storey 2 Kanal house has above ground.
Do I get a bigger house by joining two 2 Kanal plots?
No. Two separate 2 Kanal plots of 100 by 90 ft allow about 20,930 sq ft across ground and first floors. Joined, they allow about 20,185 sq ft, roughly 745 sq ft less. The gain is 6,660 sq ft of open land that can be planned as one garden, pool court or service yard instead of setback strips.
Can I join my plot to a house that is already built?
In DHA Lahore, two built houses cannot be amalgamated, but one house and one open plot can (Regulation 8(b)). Where the owners are first-blood relatives, a built house may instead use up to two adjacent empty plots as a lawn, restored before any sale other than a Hibba transfer (Regulation 64).
Can a 4 Kanal house in DHA Lahore have a swimming pool and a basement?
Yes to both. A pool is permitted on plots of 1 Kanal and above, but not on the roof, and needs a 10 ft privacy wall or another arrangement DHA directs (Regulation 34). One basement storey is permitted, with a ceiling height between 9 and 14 ft and excavation no deeper than 12 ft from the road crown (Regulations 32(c) and 35(a)).
Do I need a soil test before the design?
Yes, before the structure is designed. DHA Lahore asks for the original soil investigation report with the submission, and the report is valid for one year (Regulation 14). The foundation and the basement both depend on it, so no one can choose a foundation for a 4 Kanal house from the plot size alone.
How long does drawing approval take for a house this size in Islamabad?
Under the CDA regulations for Islamabad Capital Territory, a house with more than 10,000 sq ft of covered area may take up to six weeks and is referred to the Design Vetting Committee (Regulation 3.7.1, 2020 edition). DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi return drawings within 15 working days, and a resubmission starts that period again (Regulation 8.7). Confirm both against the current edition before you plan around them.
Can you send me a ready-made 4 Kanal naqsha?
No. A 4 Kanal ghar ka naqsha drawn for a different plot will not match your frontage, orientation, authority or route to 4 Kanal, and on a joined DHA Lahore plot the footprint rule itself changes from clear-space strips to a 63% cap. We design for the plot you own, starting from the rules that apply to it.
Is a 4 Kanal farmhouse designed the same way?
No. Farmhouse schemes publish their own coverage and height rules, and the brief usually centres on the land rather than the house. Our farmhouse design page covers that work.
Deciding whether to join the plots comes first
We answer that with the 2026 regulations open on the table, before anything is drawn. Send the plot numbers and we will set out both routes side by side.