Telangana Eases Building Norms to Boost Hyderabad Real Estate

The Telangana government amends building rules to relax TDR norms and stimulate high-rise real estate development in Hyderabad.

The Government of Telangana recently announced an amendment to the Telangana Building Rules 2012, revising the scope for builders in the city to initiate high-rise projects through relaxed Transferable Development Rights (TDR) norms. The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department notified these changes through Government Order (GO) Ms No. 95. This is expected to reduce developers’ compliance burdens, hasten project timelines, and increase housing supply along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in particular.

Furthermore, the new guidelines classify buildings above meters as high-rise and only through utilizing TDR will certain building heights between 18 meters and 21 meters on plots from 750 square meters to 2000 square meters be permitted. This will be contingent on meeting the required parking requirements and complying with other applicable norms. This reform also marks an increase from the earlier classification of 18 meters as high-rise, typically referring to either ground-plus-four or ground-plus-five depending on floor heights. To stimulate real-estate activity, the order provides certain relaxations in setbacks for non-high-rise buildings constructed by utilizing TDR.

Moreover, 10 per cent setback relaxations will also be provided to high-rise projects through TDR, provided that a minimum all-round setback of seven meters is maintained. Additionally, additional floors through TDR can be obtained in plots above 2000 square meters. Permission to include extra floors in the master plan would be based on the width of the roads adjacent to the plots, with three additional floors allowed on a 40-foot wide  road, four floors on a 60 feet road, and five floors in case of 80-foot roads. Welcoming the development, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) Hyderabad Chapter President N. Jaideep Reddy described the GO as “a testament to the government’s commitment to making Telangana a global real estate destination.” According to CIO Bulletin, the new policy would usher in planned urban growth through better utilization of land near large-scale public infrastructure such as metro and ORR corridors. Through TDR monetization, infrastructure funding would improve and ancillary sectors such as construction and related services would receive a growth impetus.