Lake City, Lahore
Avenir Developments designs and builds houses in Lake City Lahore, the LDA-approved golf community on Raiwind Road beside the Lake City Ring Road Interchange. One team takes your plot from brief and elevations to approval drawings, construction and finishing.
Before you design
Lake City is a private housing scheme on Raiwind Road in Tehsil Raiwind, south Lahore, developed by Lake City Holdings and master planned by Meinhardt. LDA's register lists it as two approved schemes: Lake City Bella Vista, finally approved with a revised plan on 26 April 2022, and Lake City Bella Verde, approved on 12 January 2021. A house here needs two approvals in order: Lake City's own, under its building guidelines, and then LDA's, under the LDA Building and Zoning Regulations for approved schemes.
Bella Vista: blocks M-1 to M-7(C) Ext, 5,957 residential and 1,067 commercial plots. Bella Verde: M-7C(1) to M-7C(4), M-7D, M-8, M-4 GBA and M-3 Ext 1, 6,622 residential and 981 commercial plots.
The developer's office is at 13 km Raiwind Road. The scheme connects to the Lahore Ring Road through the Lake City Ring Road Interchange.
5, 7, 10, 12 and 14 Marla, and 1, 2 and 4 Kanal, spread across Sectors M-1 to M-8.
Golf Estate 1 and 2 in Sector M-4 around the Phil Ryan-designed 18-hole course; the Grand Jamia Mosque by Nayyar Ali Dada; Lake City Mall and Business Bay; Downtown and L'Avenue on the 150 ft Main Boulevard (Pine Avenue).
Lake City Meadows is the former State Life housing scheme in Mouza Kamahan and Jethol, now developed by a consortium that includes Lake City. It has its own layout and approvals. If your plot is there, see house design and construction in Lake City Meadows.
LDA plot rules
Lake City's residential plots fall into four bands of LDA's table for approved schemes. Each band sets the open spaces around the house, the share of the plot the ground floor may cover, the number of storeys, the height and the floor area ratio (FAR, total floor area divided by plot area). These are LDA's limits. Lake City's office scrutinises every plan against its own guidelines before it goes to LDA, so we design to both from the first sketch.
LDA band: 5 Marla to under 10 Marla
Lake City sectors selling this size M-6, M-7, M-7C, M-8
LDA bands: 10 to 30 Marla (open spaces); 10 Marla to under 1 Kanal (coverage)
Lake City sectors selling this size M-1, M-2A, M-3, M-3A, M-5, M-6, M-7, M-7C Ext
LDA bands: 10 to 30 Marla (open spaces); 1 Kanal to 30 Marla (coverage)
Lake City sectors selling this size M-1, M-2, M-3, M-3A, M-4 Golf Estates 1 and 2, M-7
LDA band: 2 Kanal and above
Lake City sectors selling this size M-1, M-4 Golf Estate 1
2,925
sq ft ground floor at most
65% ground coverage of 4,500 sq ft
11,700
sq ft total floor area
FAR 1:2.6, basement included
5,900
sq ft in our 1 Kanal Lake City design
About two full floors
On most 1 Kanal houses the working limits are coverage, height and budget, not FAR. If your allotment letter gives a different plot area, the figures scale with it.
Source: LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, amended to 28 January 2020, clauses 2.1.4, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 5.1.1(e), 5.2.1 and 5.6.6. A January 2024 amendment on parking agreements does not change these limits. Sectors from Lake City's plot list, 8 October 2026.
Plan your house
Choose your plot size. WhatsApp opens with it already written, so our first reply is about your house and the LDA band your plot falls in.
We reply within one working day. The first consultation is free.
Sector guide
Lake City is organised in M sectors. The table combines LDA's approved blocks with the sizes on the developer's current plot list, so you can see which rules and design questions apply to your plot.
| Sector | Plot sizes on the developer's list | LDA scheme | What it means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | 10, 12, 14 Marla; 1 and 2 Kanal | Bella Vista | 10 Marla to 2 Kanal, and the only sector outside the golf estates with 2 Kanal plots on the developer's list. Our 2 Kanal house with a double-height lobby is here. |
| M-2 and M-2A | 10 Marla; 1 Kanal | Bella Vista | The developer describes M-2 as near the Ring Road. On plots facing that side, keep bedrooms away from the road edge. |
| M-3, M-3A, M-3 Ext | 10, 12, 14 Marla; 1 Kanal | Bella Vista (M-3 Ext 1 in Bella Verde) | A mix of 10 Marla to 1 Kanal plots. The 10 Marla and 1 Kanal bands differ on coverage (70% and 65%), so check which band your plot falls in. |
| M-4 Golf Estate 1 and 2 | 1 Kanal (both estates); 2 Kanal (Golf Estate 1) | Bella Vista (M-4 GBA in Bella Verde) | Course-facing plots: design the view side and the privacy side together. |
| M-5 | 10 Marla | Bella Vista | 10 Marla plots on the developer's list. Where neighbouring plots share one width, an elevation stands out through depth and material rather than width. |
| M-6 | 5, 7, 10, 12 Marla | Bella Vista | Compact plots where stair position decides how usable the rooms are. |
| M-7, M-7A, M-7B | 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 Marla; 1 Kanal | Bella Vista | 5 Marla to 1 Kanal plots near one another. A 5 Marla neighbour needs no side space, so plan windows and privacy on that side of a larger house. |
| M-7C, M-7C Ext, M-7D | 5 and 7 Marla; 10 Marla (M-7C Ext) | Bella Vista (M-7(C), M-7(C) Ext); Bella Verde (M-7C(1) to M-7C(4), M-7D) | LDA lists mortgaged plots in M-7C Ext, M-7C(4) and M-7D: check your plot number before design starts. |
| M-8 (Blocks A, A1, B1, B2, C) | 5 and 7 Marla; developer villas | Bella Verde | The developer calls M-8 its latest sector. LDA lists mortgaged plots in Block C. |
Sizes are those on Lake City's published plot list on 8 October 2026 and show what is on sale, not every plot in a sector. 4 Kanal plots appear on the list without a sector. Blocks and mortgaged plots from LDA's approved-schemes register.
Design notes
These seven decisions shape a Lake City plan. Settling them before the elevation is drawn saves redesign later.
01
Park-facing, corner and main boulevard plots cost 10% more on the developer's list, or 15% where two of these apply, and golf-facing plots in Sector M-4 are bought for the course view. The plan should use what you paid for: living rooms and terraces towards the green, glazing recessed or shaded where it faces west, and bedrooms screened from the path or the fairway.
02
A corner plot gives up a splayed corner (5 ft up to 10 Marla, 10 ft above) and shows two elevations to the street, so both need design attention and budget. LDA lets the car porch run along the longer side. On boulevard plots, a planted front space and a screened first-floor terrace keep traffic and headlights out of the lounge.
03
Lahore's summer afternoons regularly pass 40°C, and a Lake City house may have an empty plot beside it for years. We orient the main rooms north and south where the plot allows, shade west glazing, insulate the roof slab and bring daylight into the middle of deep plots through light wells or a central patio, as in our 2 Kanal house in Sector M-1.
04
LDA requires a rainwater harvesting tank on every house of 5 Marla or more, sized by plot: 500 gallons for 10 Marla, 1,000 for 1 Kanal and 1,700 for up to 2 Kanal. Roof drains may not discharge straight to the sewer or the street. We place the tank and downpipes in the first plan, not after the roof is cast.
05
A basement must stay clear of the mandatory open spaces, so it cannot run under the setbacks. It counts towards FAR and needs rooms at least 8 ft high, a sewer connection that drains by gravity at 1 in 40 or a pump, and foundations that stay inside your plot. On a street where neighbours have already built, excavation beside their walls needs its own shoring plan. Our 2 Kanal Lake City house with a pool includes a basement.
06
LDA leaves parking optional for houses in approved schemes, so plan for the cars you actually own, off the street. The porch may sit in the side space up to 20 ft long, and where the rules require a 5 ft side space, a room of the same area may be built over the porch. Check that room against the minimum room sizes before counting on it.
07
The developer sells villas designed by Nayyar Ali Dada: 5 Marla villas of 2,240 sq ft with four bedrooms in M-7C Ext and M-8, and 7 Marla villas of 3,052 sq ft with five bedrooms in M-8. If you own a plot in these blocks, those areas are a fair benchmark for a 5 or 7 Marla plan. A custom design lets you change the room mix, add a basement where it is permitted or put a bedroom for elderly parents on the ground floor.
Plot checks
Lake City's own guide to buying a plot says to confirm that the exact sector, block and plot fall within the approval and to have an architect test your brief against the plot. Do these five checks before you pay for drawings; the mortgage and possession answers should come from Lake City in writing.
01
LDA's register lists the approved blocks of both Lake City schemes, and lists a further 392.51 kanals of 'unapproved pockets' separately with no approval date. Match your sector and block to the list.
02
When LDA approves a scheme, the developer mortgages plots to LDA as security for the development works. The register names mortgaged plots in M-7C Ext, M-7C(4), M-7D and M-8 Block C. LDA's draft housing scheme regulations say no construction may take place on a mortgaged plot until it is redeemed, so ask Lake City in writing whether yours has been.
03
Lake City's own buying guide tells owners to ask for a written possession status for the exact plot and the conditions to be met before building. Design can start before possession; site work cannot.
04
Keep the allotment letter, any transfer letter and the receipts for development charges in one file. Lake City's office and your architect will both need them.
05
Measure the actual plot, the road level at the centre of the frontage, the sewer connection level and the height of any neighbouring walls. Those four facts fix the plinth, the basement depth and where the stair can go.
Sources: LDA approved-schemes register; LDA Private Housing Schemes Regulations 2021, draft VII, regulation 27; Lake City, How to Choose a Residential Plot in Lahore.
Send your sector, plot size and what you want to build. We reply with how we would approach your house and what we need from you to begin.
Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 19:00 PKT. We reply within one working day.
Approvals
Every house in Lake City needs an approved building plan before site work starts. The submission set is prepared and signed by a registered architect, with structural drawings by a registered structural engineer: PCATP registers architects and PEC registers engineers.
House plans are submitted to Lake City's office first. Its team guides owners on Lake City's building guidelines and scrutinises the drawings against them. Once Lake City approves the plans, the design documents and drawings go to the LDA office for approval.
Lake City also runs a facilitation process that helps owners obtain the LDA approval. We prepare the drawings to Lake City's guidelines and LDA's rules from the start, revise them against Lake City's comments, and then prepare the set for LDA, working alongside Lake City's team where you use its facilitation.
If the design rises above 38 ft or four storeys, LDA requires structural drawings, calculations and a stability certificate vetted by a structural engineer on LDA's panel. Any change after approval, from an extra room to a moved stair, needs a revised plan before it is built.
Local projects
Four Lake City homes on our site show how we handle the questions above: full coverage without a dark middle, bedrooms that stay private on an overlooked plot, and a basement where it earns its cost.
2 Kanal · 9,000 sq ft · Modern
A double-height entrance lobby, a central patio with the staircase, a terrace off every bedroom and a louvered terrace for privacy.
2 Kanal · 7,600 sq ft · Architecture and interiors
High ceilings, a basement and a swimming pool, with the interiors designed alongside the architecture.
1 Kanal · 5,900 sq ft covered · Modern
Built around privacy, daylight and a buildable facade: site analysis, plans, elevations, Lake City submission sheets, interior concepts and coordinated structure and services.
1 Kanal · Modern
A calmer white-stone and timber elevation on a 1 Kanal plot, planned for family living with separate guest and private areas.
More houses in DHA Lahore, Bahria Orchard and Islamabad are in our projects portfolio.
Hiring an architect
Lake City's own guide, Architects in Lahore: What to Ask Before You Hire, lists the questions a plot owner should put to any architect. These are our answers.
| Question | Avenir Developments' answer |
|---|---|
| Can you show projects like mine? | Our Lake City homes are above: two on 1 Kanal and two on 2 Kanal plots, from 5,900 to 9,000 sq ft. Our portfolio adds 5 Marla to 4 Kanal houses in DHA Lahore, Bahria Orchard and Islamabad. |
| Have you worked in Lake City, and in which sectors? | Yes. Our 2 Kanal house with a double-height lobby is in Sector M-1, and we have designed three more Lake City homes on 1 and 2 Kanal plots. |
| What is your design process? | Brief, site analysis, concept plans, 3D elevations, revisions, submission drawings, then structural, services and construction drawings. See our design process. |
| What does your fee include? | Our fee is priced per square foot of covered area and depends on scope: architecture only, architecture with interiors, or Design + Build. See architecture and design fees. |
| Do you supervise the site? | Yes, when we build or when supervision is in your scope. Structure, waterproofing, services and finishes are each signed off at their stage before work moves on. |
| How will you handle approvals? | We prepare the drawings to Lake City's guidelines and LDA's rules, revise them against Lake City's scrutiny, then prepare the set for the LDA office, working with Lake City's facilitation team where you use it. |
| How will you manage my budget? | An estimate tied to your drawings and specification, line by line, and our cost calculator for early planning. Any change is priced and approved by you in writing before work continues. |
| Who will work on my project? | Architects, structural and services engineers, interior designers and a construction team, coordinated by Avenir under one roof, so drawings and site work come from one place. |
| How will we communicate? | WhatsApp for day-to-day questions, design reviews at our DHA Phase 5 office or on video calls, and written records of approvals and changes. |
Tell us your plot size and sector. We will share the Lake City project closest to your plan and the questions it raised.
The first consultation is free, at our DHA Phase 5 office or on a video call.
Services
Choose design only, construction to someone else's drawings, or both under one contract. Whichever you choose, the Lake City rules and plot checks above come first.
Concept plans, 3D elevations, submission drawings and construction drawings, coordinated with structure and services.
Grey structure and finishing to your drawings, with a line-by-line estimate, procurement to the agreed specification and stage inspections.
One contract and one team from brief to handover, so the drawings and the site answer to the same people.
Kitchens, wardrobes, lighting, ceilings and material boards designed with the architecture, not after it.
Lake City's commercial plots run from 5 Marla to 2 Kanal in Business Bay, Downtown and L'Avenue. We design and build shops, offices and mixed-use buildings for them.
Cost planning
These planning figures come from our house construction cost calculator (rates reviewed Q4 2026, Lahore, non-DHA society, typical design). They cover grey structure and finishing for the covered area shown. Land, approval fees, furniture and appliances are extra.
| Plot | Covered area | Specification | Planning estimate | Range, plus or minus 5% | PKR per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Marla | 2,200 sq ft | Standard | PKR 1.59 Cr | 1.51 to 1.67 Cr | 7,230 |
| 10 Marla | 3,150 sq ft | Standard | PKR 2.34 Cr | 2.22 to 2.46 Cr | 7,430 |
| 1 Kanal | 5,900 sq ft | Standard | PKR 4.43 Cr | 4.20 to 4.65 Cr | 7,500 |
| 1 Kanal | 5,900 sq ft | Premium | PKR 5.90 Cr | 5.61 to 6.20 Cr | 10,000 |
| 1 Kanal with basement | 8,400 sq ft incl. 2,500 sq ft basement | Premium | PKR 8.60 Cr | 8.17 to 9.03 Cr | 10,240 |
| 2 Kanal | 9,000 sq ft | Premium | PKR 9.42 Cr | 8.95 to 9.89 Cr | 10,460 |
| 2 Kanal | 9,000 sq ft | Luxury | PKR 12.67 Cr | 12.04 to 13.31 Cr | 14,080 |
For scale: on Lake City's own list on 8 October 2026, a 1 Kanal plot costs PKR 6 to 10 crore depending on the sector. A Premium 5,900 sq ft house on it costs about PKR 5.90 crore, close to the price of the plot, so the design decisions carry as much money as the land.
What moves the figure most: covered area, the specification tier, a basement and the complexity of the design. A corner or golf-facing plot with two finished elevations adds facade cost. A firm price needs drawings and a specification; until then, treat any number as a range.
Process
01
Send your sector, plot size and what you want to build on WhatsApp or by phone.
02
We take your brief, look through your plot documents and agree a budget band.
03
Scope (design only, construction or Design + Build), fee and stages in writing.
04
Plans and elevations for your plot, revised with you until the layout is right.
05
Drawings for Lake City's scrutiny and approval, then the set for the LDA office, with structural and services drawings prepared alongside.
06
Line-by-line quantities and the brands and grades for your tier, agreed before work starts.
07
Grey structure, services and finishing, each stage inspected and every change approved in writing.
08
Snag list closed, documents handed over and completion formalities with Lake City.
If you live in the UK, the Gulf, North America or Australia, the project runs the same way. Decisions happen on WhatsApp and video calls, drawings come to you as PDFs for sign-off, site progress is reported with photographs at each stage and payments follow stages you can see. Read how overseas Pakistani clients work with us.
Tell us your plot size, the covered area you have in mind and your specification tier. We will show what a basement and each tier add to the figure.
Planning figures first. A firm price follows drawings and a specification.
Questions
Yes. LDA's register lists Lake City Bella Vista (finally approved; revised plan 26 April 2022; Sectors M-1 to M-7(C) Ext) and Lake City Bella Verde (approved 12 January 2021; M-7C(1) to M-7C(4), M-7D, M-8 and other blocks). Check that your block is in the approved layout and that your plot is not on LDA's mortgaged-plot list.
Lake City's building guidelines, which its office applies when it scrutinises your plans, and then the LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019 for approved schemes (section 2.2). LDA's table fixes the open spaces, ground coverage, storeys, height and floor area ratio for each plot size.
Under LDA's table, 65% at ground level, with a 10 ft building line, a 7 ft rear space and a 5 ft side space on one side. On a 4,500 sq ft plot that is a ground floor of up to 2,925 sq ft. LDA allows up to four storeys and 45 ft; Lake City's guidelines for your block are applied first.
A 10 ft building line at the front, a 7 ft rear space and a 5 ft side space on one side, with 70% ground coverage, under LDA's table for approved schemes. 5 and 7 Marla plots need a 5 ft building line, a 5 ft rear space and no side space, at 75% coverage.
LDA's rules allow a basement, built clear of the mandatory open spaces so it does not run under the setbacks. It counts towards floor area ratio, needs rooms at least 8 ft high and needs drainage by gravity or pump. Lake City's guidelines for your block also apply. Our 2 Kanal Lake City house with a pool has a basement.
Two approvals, in order. Lake City's office scrutinises the plans against its building guidelines first; once Lake City approves them, the drawings go to the LDA office. Lake City runs a facilitation process to help owners through the LDA step. Plans are signed by a PCATP-registered architect, with structural drawings by a PEC-registered engineer.
For a 5,900 sq ft house, about PKR 4.43 crore at Standard specification or PKR 5.90 crore at Premium, on our Q4 2026 Lahore rates for grey structure and finishing. A 2,500 sq ft basement takes a Premium house to about PKR 8.60 crore. Land and approval fees are extra.
Yes. We provide the drawings, the specification and the quantities your contractor builds from, and we can visit the site at agreed stages to check the work against the drawings.
No. Lake City Meadows is the former State Life housing scheme in Mouza Kamahan and Jethol, developed by a consortium that includes Lake City. Its layout and approvals are separate from Lake City on Raiwind Road.
LDA may allow plots owned by the same person, with the same land use, to be joined, and the rules of the combined plot size then apply. A plot under 2 Kanal cannot be split; a larger plot can be split only with prior approval of the subdivision plan, into plots of at least 1 Kanal with a 35 ft frontage. Ask Lake City's office before drawings start.
Yes, for any house of 5 Marla or more. LDA sets the capacity by plot size: 300 gallons for 5 Marla, 500 for 10 Marla, 1,000 for 1 Kanal and 1,700 for up to 2 Kanal. Roof drains may not discharge straight to the sewer or street.
Yes. You can approve designs on video calls, sign drawings as PDFs and follow the site through stage photographs, with payments tied to completed stages. Forms that need your own signature, such as possession or transfer papers, may need a visit or a power of attorney, so check Lake City's requirements early.
Start your project
No form to fill. Send your sector, plot size and what you want to build, and we reply with how the rules apply to your plot and the next step.
Avenir Developments, 139 CCA, DHA Phase 5, Lahore 54000. Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 19:00 PKT.
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