Chennai Housing Market Hops to Fresh Heights after Change in Building Codes

Chennai’s housing market is seeing tremendous change following the revised Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019. Recently, it allowed an increased FSI with an additional height that encourages mid-rise apartment construction on a smaller plot size.

As things stand now under the new laws, developers will be able to build stilt plus five floors on 1.5 ground plots. Now, that would be a rather huge difference when compared to building a stilt plus two floors only previously. The above adjustment has permitted the development of affordable housing units in the urban core of the city.

According to S. Ramprabhu, chairman of the DTCP committee, Builders Association of India: “Before 2019, the height of NHRBs was capped at 12m and 15m. Under new regulations, that has been taken up to 18.3m. While FSI, from 1.5 times the built-up area, has increased to 2 times. “This has encouraged the development of mid-rise buildings.”

The Greater Chennai Corporation and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) now oversee approvals for developments with up to 16 units or 10,000 square feet. G. Mohan, former president of the Chennai Southern Builders Association, noted a shift towards special buildings—vertical structures constructed on smaller plots.

The surge in vertical construction is evident in the CMDA’s approval statistics. In 2024, the authority issued 664 permissions for special buildings, surpassing the previous record of 657 permissions in 1995. Additionally, 64 high-rise building (HRB) permissions were granted.

Officials attribute this growth to the relaxation of building rules and the introduction of online planning permissions in May 2022. The CMDA’s online platform, integrated with 21 state and Union government departments, has streamlined the approval process, further accelerating urban development in the Chennai Metropolitan Area.

These developments underscore Chennai’s commitment to accommodating its expanding population through innovative and efficient urban planning strategies.