Placing a house on the plot in the Vaslui area: plot coverage, heights and alignment, according to the O.A.R. guide

Where you place the house on the plot, and how large and tall it can be, are the first questions of any rural project. The O.A.R. guide for the Vaslui area gives concrete recommendations. The figures are recommendations; the legally binding values are those in the general urban plan (PUG) and the local urban planning regulations of the locality.

In the village or outside it

The guide distinguishes two placement solutions: outside the village core, for large functions (production and processing centres, water mills, livestock farms, large sports halls), and in the village core, for everything else. Small, medium or large detached buildings are preferably placed in the village core or at its edge. Large single-volume buildings (over 250 sqm) must be placed outside the village, in an area accepted through the general or zonal urban plan (PUG or PUZ); in the village core only in exceptional and rigorously justified cases.

On the plot

• in compactly built areas, buildings align with the existing ones; a setback from the building line is recommended if it keeps the street front coherent;
• the placement follows the typical organisation and hierarchy of buildings on the plot, so that the whole remains coherent as seen from the street;
• merging or dividing plots should be avoided; it is allowed if it does not alter the image of the public space;
• no building on agricultural land inside the built-up area used as hay meadow or orchard, except buildings for processing fruit and vegetables;
• the placement of a new building is justified by a site context plan (site study).

As negative examples, the guide gives extensions aligned with the street fence (the local character is to set buildings back) and oversized buildings placed at the back of the plot. Among the good examples: a new building aligned with the neighbouring house closest to the street, with the same height (ground floor), or a large volume broken up into several buildings.

Recommended plot coverage and heights

For new small, medium or large detached buildings:

• maximum plot coverage (POT) 35% for plots under 500 sqm, decreasing by 3% for every additional 100 sqm, down to 20% for plots over 1,000 sqm;
• maximum height basement/semi-basement + ground floor + attic;
• eaves at most 5.5 m high, at any point of the building outline;
• ridge at most 11 m high.

For large single-volume buildings (over 250 sqm), the recommended plot coverage is at most 25%, with the same height limit. At the end of the recommendations for single-volume buildings, the guide says that plots under 400 sqm are not eligible for building (the text does not make clear whether the rule also applies to detached buildings); for plots resulting from a subdivision, plot coverage and floor area ratio refer to the area of the original plot in the historic plot plan.

Single-family homes taller than semi-basement, ground floor and attic are not recommended. An attic can be fitted into the loft volume or by raising the eaves, but no more than 5.5 m above ground and 3 m above the ground-floor level. For the house of up to 150 sqm built on the basis of a notification, art. 294 of the Code speaks of a ground floor or a semi-basement and ground floor, without a basement, so the attic option in the guide does not automatically apply to this procedure.

What else to check

• fire safety distances from neighbours and fire brigade access: see the article on houses and the P 118 standard;
• if you built without a permit, see regularisation and fines;
• the binding values for plot coverage, floor area ratio and height are taken from the urban planning certificate and the local urban planning regulations.