Building a house in Nepal, step by step

General information, not legal or engineering advice. Permit steps, building bylaws and fees differ between municipalities and change over time. Confirm with your municipality and a registered engineer before you start.

Building a house is the biggest purchase most families make, and most problems start before the first brick: on the wrong plot, with drawings nobody checked, or with a contract that only says "per square foot". Work through these steps in order.

1. Check the land first

• Ownership and map. The lalpurja should be in your name (or be transferable to you), and the trace map (naksa) from the Survey Office should match the plot on the ground. See Checks before buying land and Buying land: dos and don'ts.
• Road access. A municipality will usually not approve a building on a plot without legal road access. Check the road on the map, not just the track on the ground.
• What you may build. Setbacks from the road and boundaries, the road's right-of-way, ground coverage, floor area ratio (FAR) and height limits come from your municipality's building bylaws and differ from place to place. Ask the municipality's technical section before you buy or design.
• The site itself. Look for high-tension lines, streams and riverbanks, filled ground and steep slopes. On a slope, ask an engineer about the soil and retaining walls before you commit.

2. Get drawings from a registered designer

Your drawings must be prepared and signed by an engineer or architect registered with the Nepal Engineering Council (NEC), and under the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction's (DUDBC) Building Construction Guidance 2082 the designer must also be listed with your municipality. Ask for both.

A complete set for a house includes:

• architectural plans, elevations and sections, and a site plan showing the setbacks;
• structural drawings: footings, column and beam sizes with their bars, and slab details;
• a cost estimate and a bill of quantities (BoQ), so you can compare contractors on the same basis.

You will also need a supervising engineer: the guidance asks for their report, with photos of the work, each time you apply for a municipal inspection. See Hiring contractors, engineers and architects.

3. Get the building permit (naksha pass)

You need a building permit from your municipality or rural municipality before you start. Many municipalities take applications online through the electronic Building Permit System (e-BPS). DUDBC's guidance sets out this sequence; your municipality's details may differ:

1. Apply with the drawings and documents: lalpurja, trace map, the current land tax receipt (malpot tiro), your citizenship certificate and the designer's papers.
2. Neighbour notice. The ward notifies the neighbours (sandhiyar), who have 15 days to object. A municipal technician then checks the site.
3. Owner orientation. You must attend the municipality's short class on the building code and earthquake-safe construction. The permit is not issued until you have.
4. Temporary permit to build up to plinth level.
5. First inspection: before the footings and columns below the plinth are cast, the municipality checks the layout and the bars.
6. Second inspection: before the plinth beam (or DPC band) is cast. If the work matches the drawings, you get the permanent permit to build above the plinth.
7. Third inspection: before the first-floor slab is cast, with the bars in place. The municipality may also inspect the upper floors at any stage.
8. Completion certificate (nirman sampanna pramanpatra), after a final inspection. The house must match the approved drawings, have a septic tank and soak pit where there is no sewer, and have at least one coat of paint inside and out, and any damage you did to roads, drains or water lines must be repaired. If the floors built so far are fit to live in, you can get a partial completion certificate.

Without a completion or partial completion certificate, the municipality will not recommend electricity or water connections, a sale or a mortgage. You must finish within 2 years of the permanent permit; if you apply before it runs out, the permit is extended by 2 more years for 5% of the original permit fee. More detail: Building permits (naksha pass): step by step.

Build what was approved. A bigger footprint or other design changes need revised approval, and adding a floor later needs a permit just like a new building. Unapproved work can stop you getting the completion certificate, and banks must check the permit and completion papers before they lend.

4. Design for earthquakes

Nepal is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, so the National Building Code (NBC) matters more than the finishes.

• NBC 105:2025, the second revision approved on 2082/07/16, sets the seismic design rules for buildings.
• NBC 205:2024 gives ready-to-use details for small reinforced-concrete (RC) houses: ordinary homes of up to 3 storeys (and no more than 12 m) with a ground coverage of up to 1,000 sq ft and a simple, regular layout. Among other things it calls for columns of at least 350 × 350 mm (about 14 × 14 inches), M20 concrete, Fe500 rebar (preferably Fe500D), and cantilevers no longer than 1 m.
• Anything bigger or less regular than that must be designed by an engineer.

The 9 × 12 inch columns many older houses were built with do not meet the 2024 guideline. Also ask about closely spaced ties (stirrups) near beam-column joints, avoiding an open "soft" ground floor, and never adding floors later unless the design allows for them. See Building an earthquake-safer house.

5. Choose how you will build

• Full contract (materials and labour): simplest for you, but the contract must name the specifications: cement type and grade, rebar grade, brick quality and concrete mix.
• Labour contract (you buy the materials, the thekedar supplies the labour, often priced per square foot): more control over materials, more of your time.
• Daily-wage workers managed by you or a supervisor: cheapest on paper, hardest to control.

DUDBC's guidance asks owners of larger buildings (categories A and B) to choose a contractor registered with the municipality, and owners of ordinary houses to use at least masons registered with it. Ask your municipality for its lists. Whichever way you build:

• get at least three quotes on the same drawings and BoQ, and visit houses each contractor has finished;
• put it in writing: scope, specifications, rates, a payment schedule tied to completed stages (avoid large advances), the timeline, who provides water and electricity, curing, how extra work is priced, and who fixes defects;
• keep your supervising engineer involved at every stage below. It costs little next to the house.

6. Budget realistically

Construction costs per square foot vary a lot with location, design and finishes, so get current local rates from your engineer rather than a number from the internet. Remember the items people forget:

• design, permit and supervision fees;
• temporary water and electricity, site clearing and the boundary wall;
• the septic tank and soak pit or sewer connection, water tank, boring or pump;
• doors, windows, tiles, sanitary fittings, wiring and paint;
• utility connection fees and moving costs.

Keep a contingency (10–15% is a common rule of thumb), and buy cement and rebar in phases with proper bills, as prices move during a build.

7. Stages and what to check

• Layout and digging: building lines match the approved site plan and setbacks; footings reach firm soil.
• Footings and column starters: bar sizes and numbers match the drawings; cover blocks under the bars; the municipality's first inspection before casting.
• Plinth: the plinth beam runs continuously all round; the second inspection before it is cast, and the permanent permit before you build higher.
• Columns, beams and slab: tie spacing near joints, where bars are lapped, formwork level and well propped; the third inspection before the first-floor slab is cast.
• Casting concrete: the right mix, no extra water added on site, compacted with a vibrator.
• Curing and props: concrete kept wet for as long as your engineer specifies (commonly at least a week, longer for PPC cement); props removed only when the engineer agrees.
• Walls, plumbing and wiring: pipes and conduits laid before plaster; water lines pressure-tested; earthing. See Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning basics.
• Roof and bathrooms: waterproofing tested by ponding water before tiling.

8. After the house is finished

• Get the completion certificate, then apply for the electricity meter and the water connection.
• Ask the Land Revenue Office (Malpot) how to record the new building with your land, and register it with the municipality for property tax.
• Keep the approved drawings, the permit and inspection certificates, bills, and photos of the reinforcement taken before each pour. They help with loans, insurance, repairs and selling.

Next: Choosing cement, rebar, bricks and sand and Picking hardware and material shops.