When a buyer in Devanahalli in 2026 asked why one project on a narrow road offered far fewer flats than a taller tower on a wide arterial road nearby, the honest answer was three letters: FAR. The wider road allowed more floors, the narrow one did not, and that single planning rule shaped the density, the price, and even the future of both projects. Floor area ratio is not a term most buyers learn until it affects them, but understanding it early explains a great deal about what you are buying and whether it was built within the rules.

The short answer. Floor area ratio, or FAR, is the ratio of the total floor area of a building to the area of the plot it sits on, and floor space index, or FSI, means the same thing. In Bangalore the permissible FAR is set by the planning authorities under the master plan and depends heavily on the width of the road abutting the plot, so a wider road usually allows more built up area. For a buyer this matters in two ways: it shapes the density and value of a project, and it is a compliance line, since a building that exceeds its sanctioned FAR is in violation. The trade off is between density and livability, so read FAR as both a value and a risk signal.

What is FSI or FAR and how is it calculated?

FAR is simply the total built floor area of a building divided by the area of the plot, expressed as a ratio. If a plot is 1,000 square metres and the rules allow a FAR of two, then up to 2,000 square metres of floor area may be built across all floors. FSI is the same concept under a different name, more commonly used in states like Maharashtra, while FAR is the term used more widely nationally. The ratio is the lever planners use to control how much can be built on a given piece of land, and therefore how dense an area becomes. For a buyer, the key point is that FAR sets the ceiling on buildable area, and a project should sit within the FAR that its plot and location actually permit.

What determines the permissible FAR in Bangalore?

In Bangalore the permissible FAR is governed by the Bangalore Development Authority and BBMP under the master plan, and it depends most strongly on the width of the road next to your plot. Broadly, plots on wider roads are allowed a higher FAR than plots on narrow roads, because wider roads can carry the extra traffic that denser development brings. The city is also divided into zones that influence what is allowed. The table below gives approximate FAR ranges by road width to illustrate the pattern, drawn from a public FAR explainer for Bangalore, but you should always confirm the exact permitted figure for a specific plot against the sanctioned plan and the current rules, since these vary by zone and are updated over time.

How does FAR affect an apartment buyer?

FAR shapes both the character of a project and its compliance, so it affects value and risk at the same time. A higher permitted FAR lets a developer build more floor area, which can mean more units, more amenities spread over more residents, and a different feel to the building and its surroundings. That density can be positive, funding better shared facilities, or negative, straining roads, water, and parking in the area. On the compliance side, FAR is a line that a building must not cross, so a project that has built beyond its sanctioned FAR has a violation that can affect its occupancy certificate, its khata, and its resale. For a buyer, this means treating a project that looks suspiciously dense for its plot and road as a prompt to check the sanctioned plan carefully. There is also a quieter effect worth noting. Where a developer has used the maximum permitted FAR, the common areas, parking, and open space can feel tight because the plot is working hard, whereas a project built comfortably within its FAR often feels more spacious for the same reason. Neither is automatically better, but knowing where a project sits on that spectrum helps you understand the daily experience you are buying, not just the compliance box.

What is premium FAR and why does it matter?

Premium FAR is additional buildable area that the authorities may allow beyond the base FAR, usually on payment and subject to conditions, and Karnataka finalised its premium FAR framework in early 2025. The idea is to permit greater density along corridors that can support it, such as wide roads and transit routes, in exchange for a premium and statutory approvals. For a buyer this is relevant because a project may legitimately have more floor area than the base FAR would suggest, provided the premium FAR was properly sanctioned. The important word is properly. Extra floor area that rests on a genuine premium FAR approval is compliant, while extra floor area with no such approval is a violation dressed up as generosity. When a project cites premium FAR, ask to see the approval rather than taking density at face value.

How do you check FAR compliance before you buy?

Compare what has been built against what was sanctioned, using the approved plan and the completion and occupancy documents. Ask the developer for the sanctioned plan and confirm the number of floors and the built area against it, and check that any additional area is backed by a premium FAR or other approval. The occupancy certificate and completion certificate are useful here, because they reflect whether the authority accepted the building as built, and a building that exceeds its FAR often struggles to obtain a clean occupancy certificate. For an apartment, you do not need to compute FAR yourself, but you do need to confirm that the professionals and the authority have signed off on a building that sits within its permitted envelope. Where the paperwork and the visible building do not match, treat that as a question to resolve first. A simple visual cue is to count the floors on the actual building and compare that count with the sanctioned plan, since unauthorised additional floors are one of the most common ways a project quietly exceeds its FAR. If the building has more floors than the plan shows, or an added penthouse or mezzanine that does not appear in the sanction, that is a concrete discrepancy to raise before you go further, not a detail to overlook because the flat itself looks attractive.

How does FAR fit with your other Bangalore checks?

FAR is part of the approvals layer, sitting alongside the sanctioned plan, the occupancy certificate, the khata, and the title. A project that respects its FAR, holds a valid occupancy certificate, and has a clean khata and title is telling you a consistent story that it was built within the rules. A project that has quietly exceeded its FAR often reveals the strain elsewhere, in a delayed or missing occupancy certificate or a khata problem. This is why FAR is best read not in isolation but as one thread in the compliance fabric. When you assemble your document set, place the sanctioned plan and any premium FAR approval next to the occupancy certificate and the khata, and check that the building on the ground matches the building on paper.

A seven step FAR check for buyers

Work through these before you commit to a project.

1. Ask the developer for the sanctioned plan and the permitted FAR for the plot.
2. Note the width of the road abutting the plot, which strongly influences the FAR.
3. Confirm the number of floors and built area against the sanctioned plan.
4. Check whether any extra area is backed by a premium FAR or other approval.
5. Verify that the occupancy and completion certificates are consistent with the plan.
6. Treat a project that looks unusually dense for its plot as a prompt to dig deeper.
7. Resolve any mismatch between the built building and the sanctioned plan before you pay.

FAR is one layer of a full approvals check. Read this with our guide on the occupancy certificate versus the completion certificate, since an FAR violation often shows up as an occupancy problem, and with our explainer on A khata versus B khata, since building deviations can push a property onto the B register. You can apply this discipline to a live launch such as Prestige Gardenia Estate Phase 2 at Devanahalli.

Frequently asked questions

What is FSI or FAR and how is it calculated?

FAR is the total built floor area divided by the plot area. If a 1,000 square metre plot allows a FAR of two, up to 2,000 square metres of floor area may be built. FSI means the same thing and is more common in Maharashtra, while FAR is used more widely nationally.

What determines the permissible FAR in Bangalore?

The permissible FAR is set by the Bangalore Development Authority and BBMP under the master plan and depends most strongly on the width of the road abutting the plot. Zones across the city also influence what is allowed. Always confirm the exact permitted figure against the sanctioned plan and the current rules.

How does FAR affect an apartment buyer?

FAR shapes both the density and the compliance of a project. A higher permitted FAR allows more floor area and units, changing the feel of the building and the strain on infrastructure. FAR is also a line a building must not cross, so exceeding the sanctioned FAR is a violation that can affect the occupancy certificate, khata, and resale.

What is premium FAR?

Premium FAR is additional buildable area allowed beyond the base FAR, and Karnataka finalised its framework in early 2025. It permits greater density in exchange for a premium and approvals. Extra area backed by a genuine premium FAR approval is compliant, while extra area without one is a violation, so ask to see the approval.

Last updated 2026-07-18. PropNewz Team.