Before you buy a building plot

A building zone is the part of the land that the spatial plan sets aside for building. Outside it, a family house can as a rule not be built, however the plot is advertised. Inside it, the plan also sets the use of the zone, for example residential or mixed.

Spatial plans can be viewed in the public spatial planning information system. You can also request a location information for the plot: an extract of the provisions from all valid plans that apply to that land. Where a new generation plan has not been adopted yet, the local planning office issues it within 15 days.

For a building zone the plan sets how much of the plot may be covered by buildings and how large the total floor area of all storeys may be. It also sets the maximum number of floors, the height and often the roof shape and pitch.

Those two figures, the site coverage ratio and the floor area ratio, together with the plot size give the largest house you can build on it, including outbuildings such as a garage.

The plan sets the type of building: a detached house stands clear of all boundaries, a semi detached house leans on one boundary and a terraced house on two. It also sets the distance from the street and from the neighbouring boundaries.

For a house of up to two floors above ground, the distance from a boundary facing windows may not be less than 3 metres, and the local plan may ask for more. These distances give the rough width and depth of the house. On a narrow plot this is often decisive: a plot 14 metres wide, with 3 metres on each side, leaves 8 metres for the house.

A building plot must have access to a road in line with the spatial plan. If the only way to the plot crosses someone else's land, sort it out before you buy, because without access there is no building.

Connections to electricity, water and drainage are confirmed by the utilities through connection conditions, which the designer obtains before the permit application. Before buying, check whether the networks run along the street. Where there is no public sewer, the plan may allow an own system, such as a septic tank.

In the public land register and cadastre application, check who the owner is, whether there are co owners and whether the plot is encumbered, for example by a mortgage or a right of way. Compare the shape and area of the plot in the cadastre with what you see on site.

For the building permit, the proof of legal interest is an extract from the land register. If the register and the cadastre do not match, aligning them takes time and can delay the whole project, so it is better to know before you sign.

We check all of this for you and send a written report within three working days. It states what may be built on the plot, how large a house fits, how it can sit on the plot and what to watch out for before buying.

The first conversation and a quick look at the plot are free. The detailed check with a written report is a paid service. If you go on to have your house or building designed by us, its cost is deducted from the design fee.