Planner

Plot planner: setbacks, buildable area and house placement

Free to useNo account needed

Start with the land, not just the house. Enter the plot size and your setbacks, and GoSpacePlan works out the buildable area, places a rectangular or L-shaped house inside it, and lays out a front path, driveway, terrace and gardens around it. Every result reports how much of the plot the house covers.

Plan a house on a plot

No account needed for local planning or downloads. Plans are conceptual.

20 by 30 metre plot with setback lines, a buildable area and a 16 by 11 metre house near the street
Illustrative setbacks. Use the figures that apply to your own site.

From setbacks to a buildable area

A 20 × 30 m plot with a 6 m front setback, an 8 m rear setback and 1.5 m on each side leaves a buildable area of 17 × 16 m, or 272 m². A 16 × 11 m house fits; an 18 m wide house does not, by 1 m. GoSpacePlan states the shortfall rather than squeezing the house. The plot fit guide walks through the arithmetic.

Placing the house

  • Near the street: the shortest front path and the largest back garden.
  • Centered: equal space front and back.
  • Toward the rear: a deeper front garden or parking area.

The front door faces the street side you choose. With a garage, the driveway runs straight from the street to the garage door, and the front path runs to the entrance.

Gardens, terraces and coverage

Land behind the house becomes a terrace, a back garden and planting beds; strips beside it become side gardens; an L-shaped house gets a courtyard terrace in its corner. Site coverage is the footprint divided by the plot area. A 176 m² house on a 600 m² plot covers 29%.

What this does not check

Setbacks, coverage limits, easements, levels, drainage and access rules vary by location and are not looked up. Treat the result as a concept to discuss with a qualified designer or your local authority. For the house itself, see the floor plan maker. For quick arithmetic, use the plot coverage calculator.

Start from a template

Browse all 73 templates

Guides for this planner