You can’t build a second floor in Karachi houses

Photo: File

People cannot build anything over a ground-plus-one floor structure on residential plots that are over 120-sq yards in Karachi.

The ban applies to plots located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulberg, Jamshed Town, Liaquatabad and Nazimabad. It will be effective until a government committee presents a report to the Supreme Court, said a notification Tuesday.

There is a severe housing shortage in Karachi and going up is the only way to tackle it. As Karachi has grown denser, the Sindh Building Control Authority has tried to clamp down on construction. Water, electricity and sewage infrastructure is strained.

A real estate agent said the ban is bad business for them.

In May 2017, the building authority had banned the construction of above ground plus two stories across Karachi. This affected high-rise construction of flats and the housing industry.

(An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted the SBCA saying that people cannot build anything over a ground plus one floor structure on 120-sq yard plots. The error is regretted.)