Realtors call for amending proposed Dhaka building construction rules

Realtors have demanded an amendment to the proposed rules and regulations made to reduce the height and size of buildings in the capital and surrounding areas.

"The provisions of the proposed Detailed Area Plan (DAP) 2016-2035 on the height of buildings is very unrealistic," Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) said at a press conference at a city hotel on Sunday.

"If the Dhaka Building Construction Rules-2021 are finalised, the cost of building a flat will increase severalfold, which will affect both buyers and businesses."

In the proposed DAP, the maximum height of residential buildings has been fixed at 7-8 storey for Uttara, 6-8 storey for Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara, six-story for Khilkhet, Kuril and Nikunja, 4-7 storey for Mirpur, 5-8 storey for Mohammadpur and Lalmatia and 4-6 storey for Old Dhaka.

In a written statement, Shamsul Alamin said according to the Dhaka Building Construction Rules-2008, a total of 13,500 square feet could be constructed in an 8-storey building with the ground floor on 5 Katha land adjacent to a 20 feet road.

According to the proposed rules, permission will be given to construct just 9,000 square feet in a similar building.

Additionally, buildings cannot be more than 3/4 storey on the side of a road smaller than 20 feet in length, he added.

"It will increase the problem and buyers will get affected," said the REHAB president.

"Landowners will face the biggest loss. At present, the price of land is very high in Dhaka city. If the maximum eight-storey residential building is constructed on the land purchased at this high price, the cost of a flat or apartment will double."

Although a committee was formed a few days ago to seek the opinions of stakeholders on the draft Building Construction Rules-2021, no further progress has been made in this regard.

Shamsul Alamin said the proposed DAP and building construction rules 2021 need to be radically changed to protect housing and related industries and ensure low rents and a place to live in the capital.

"We believe that the present government will not allow making unrealistic rules and regulations," REHAB vice-president Kamal Mahmud said at the press conference.

"We believe that DAP 2016-2035 and the Building Construction Rules 2021 will be finalised based on the recommendations of planners, architects, expert professionals, and stakeholders."

Responding to a question from reporters, Kamal Mahmud said planned cities are being built with such a plan in most countries of the world.

"We have no objection to further increasing the amount of space we now have during the construction of the building. But unrealistic provisions are being made in the new rules," he added.

REHAB vice-presidents Nazrul Islam Dulal, Lion Sharif Ali Khan, and Engineer Mohammad Sohel Rana Also were, among others, present at the press conference.