🗺️ Design rules for my area
The O.A.R. rural design guides: how plot coverage, heights and fences differ from one area to another
This is a translation. The Romanian version of the article is the reference text.
⚠️ These guides apply only to buildings in Romania. The laws, standards, deadlines, fees and values quoted (Law 169/2026, P 118, CR 1-1-3, the O.A.R. guides) are Romanian; in your own country other rules apply.
The Romanian Order of Architects has published a guide for each ethnographic area, and the recommendations differ a lot from one to another. For Negrești and Vaslui county, the guide for the Vaslui area applies. The table below puts the values from 11 guides side by side, to show how much the area matters.
ℹ️ About the source
This article compares the design guides for fitting new buildings into the local character of rural areas, published by the Romanian Order of Architects (O.A.R.), for 11 areas. The guides contain recommendations, not legal rules. From each one we only extracted the values we could read clearly and completely; areas for which we do not have complete data are not in the table. Check the value in the guide for the area and in the local regulations.
Comparison table
Plot coverage (POT) is the percentage of the plot occupied by buildings. The heights are the recommended maximums for new detached buildings; the guides measure them differently (from the lowest point of the ground or from the ground-floor level), so the figures cannot be compared mechanically.
| Area | Recommended plot coverage | Eaves / ridge | Street fence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaslui | 35% under 500 sqm, minus 3% for every additional 100 sqm, 20% over 1,000 sqm | 5.5 m / 11 m (basement/semi-basement + ground floor + attic) | 1.20-1.40 m, solid |
| Tutova Hills (Bacău, Neamț) | 20% in scattered villages, 30% in clustered villages; floor area ratio 1.00 | 6 m / 8 m or 12 m, depending on pitch (from ground floor) | at most 1.60 m, semi-transparent |
| Bacău-Neamț Meadow | 30% under 500 sqm, minus 3% per 100 sqm, 20% from 1,000 sqm | 5.5 m / 10 m or 11 m, depending on pitch | solid in the village core, semi-transparent outside it |
| Bacău-Neamț Subcarpathians | 20% (by zone: 40% in the centre, 25% near roads, 15% at the edge); footprint 8 x 11 m | 6 m / 11 m | at most 1.20 m, transparent, with a solid base up to 60 cm (unless the regulations say otherwise) |
| Buzău Subcarpathians | 15% (by zone: 40% / 25% / 15%); footprint 8 x 12 m | 6 m / 11 m | at most 1.20 m, transparent, with a solid base up to 60 cm (unless the regulations say otherwise) |
| Vrancea | 30% under 500 sqm, minus 3% per 100 sqm, 20% from 1,000 sqm | 5.5 m / 10 m or 11 m, depending on pitch | at most 2.00 m |
| Brăila-Galați-Buzău (plain) | 15% to 35%, depending on position in the village | 5 m / 11 m | at most 1.60 m |
| Botoșani | 30% under 500 sqm, minus 3% per 100 sqm, 15% over 1,000 sqm | 7 m / 11 m | at most 2.00 m |
| Fălticeni (Suceava) | 35% under 500 sqm, minus 3% per 100 sqm, 20% over 1,000 sqm | 5.5 m / 11 m | 1.20-1.40 m, solid or semi-transparent |
| Southern Bukovina (Suceava) | 35% under 500 sqm, minus 3% per 100 sqm, 20% over 1,000 sqm | 5.5 m / 11 m | at most 1.60 m, solid or semi-transparent |
| Mărginimea Sibiului | 65% in valley villages, 85% in some mountain villages; floor area ratio 1.3 / 1.7 | 5.5 m / 11 m or 12 m, depending on pitch | according to the character of the street |
What the table shows
- recommended plot coverage ranges from 15% on the plain or at the edge of the village to 65-85% in the dense villages of Mărginimea Sibiului; there is no single rule for the whole country;
- the maximum ridge height is between 10 and 12 m in most guides, while the eaves go from 5 m up to 7 m;
- street fences range from 1.20 m, transparent, in the Subcarpathian guides, to 2.00 m in Botoșani and Vrancea;
- for Vaslui, the guide requires a solid street fence of 1.20-1.40 m, while in the Subcarpathians the street fence must be transparent.
Articles about the areas
- Vaslui area (and the articles on placement, roofs and annexes and fences);
- Tutova Hills;
- Bacău-Neamț Meadow area;
- Vrancea;
- Brăila-Galați-Buzău plain;
- Mărginimea Sibiului;
- Țara Făgărașului.
Informational article summarising O.A.R. guides. The values are those recommended in each guide for new detached buildings. It does not replace the local urban planning regulations, the specialist design or the required approvals, and it is not legal advice.
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