Dubai raises Al Satwa building cap to eight floors

Dubai Municipality amended planning rules in the Al Satwa area, allowing taller residential buildings on some plots. Under the new rules, internal-road plots can carry a ground floor plus two residential floors, while external-road plots can include a commercial ground floor with two or three residential floors.

The rules allow plots of 1,000 square metres or more, including combined plots, to reach a commercial ground floor and eight floors, with a floor-area ratio of up to 3.5.

The amendment sets a different breakdown by plot location, as the number of floors and permitted use depend on whether the frontage is on an internal or external road, giving larger plots greater development potential.

The new rules define the number of floors and permitted use for each type of plot, which directly affects the design of residential projects in the area and the size of buildings that can be built on them.

What do these terms mean?

Commercial ground floor: The first floor at street level, designated for commercial activities such as shops and offices rather than residential use.

Floor-area ratio: The ratio between a project's total built-up area and the land plot area. The higher the ratio, the more space that can be built on the same plot.

Combined plots: Two or more land plots merged into one large plot, allowing a larger project than each plot could support on its own.