Haryana froze Stilt+4 approvals again.This is the second time in four months.
On July 21, 2026, Haryana's Town and Country Planning Department disabled the S+4 building- plan portal statewide, again. If you're buying, holding, or building a plot for its 4th-floor potential anywhere in Gurugram, here's the actual timeline and what to verify before you commit.
What a Stilt+4 floor is, and why Haryana keeps freezing it.
A Stilt+4 (S+4) building uses its ground level purely for parking, with four full residential floors stacked above. It's become the backbone of Gurugram's independent builder-floor market, the plotted colonies in DLF Phases, Sushant Lok, South City, Palam Vihar, HSVP sectors, and New Gurgaon, where buyers pick up one floor of a subdivided plot rather than an apartment in a group-housing tower.
The policy itself has been unstable for years. It was introduced to add housing supply on existing plots, then suspended in 2023 after Resident Welfare Associations pushed back over density. It was reinstated statewide through a July 2, 2024 DTCP notification, based on recommendations from an expert committee.
Then, on April 3, 2026, the Punjab & Haryana High Court granted an interim stay in a petition challenging the policy. Haryana's Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) responded by disabling both the dedicated S+4 portal and the Haryana Online Building Plan Approval System (OBPAS) for fresh applications, freezing more than 300 pending applications across Gurugram and Faridabad, per The Tribune.
DTCP spent the following months compiling infrastructure and violation data for the court. Then, on July 21, 2026, the department suspended fresh S+4 approvals a second time, statewide, this time even in areas outside Gurugram that had briefly regained clearance after the first freeze eased. The stated reason: online verification and self-certification systems still weren't finalised. As of this writing, that freeze is still in effect.
The court's concern was infrastructure, not the concept of a 4th floor.
The High Court's April stay came with a pointed observation, that the state was prioritising revenue from S+4 sanctions over public safety. It flagged roads originally planned at 10 to 12 metres that had, in practice, shrunk to as little as 4 to 5 metres once construction and encroachment ate into them. DLF Phases 1 to 4 were named as the worst-affected pockets, along with several HSVP sectors, including 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 31, 40, and 46, where ongoing construction or pending regularisation under the 2024 policy now sits stalled. The court ordered a sector-wise infrastructure capacity audit before any further approvals proceed.
What to verify before you book a builder floor right now.
None of this is exotic. It's what a careful buyer, or a property lawyer, checks anyway, it just matters more while the approval pipeline itself is frozen.
A building with a valid sanctioned plan and Occupancy Certificate issued before the April 3, 2026 stay remains fully legal. Ask for the OC's exact date. If it was granted after that, or if there's no OC at all, the floor's legal status needs closer scrutiny.
S+4 eligibility depends on the plot's road being at least 10 metres wide, based on official revenue records and approved layout plans, not visual estimation. The court itself flagged that roads on paper have shrunk in practice in older DLF phases. Get this checked against DTCP records, not just the site visit.
With the S+4 portal and OBPAS disabled since July 21, 2026, no new applications can be processed right now. If a plot or floor is being marketed on the promise of imminent S+4 approval, that promise cannot be fulfilled until the freeze lifts, and there's no public timeline for when that happens.
DLF Phases 1 to 4 and HSVP Sectors 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 31, 40, and 46 were specifically flagged as the worst-affected in the April stay. A plot in one of these pockets carries more uncertainty around future regularisation than one elsewhere.
Ask the seller or builder for the actual sanctioned drawing and, where applicable, the OC, rather than relying on a brochure or WhatsApp message describing the floor as "4th floor ready." A seller who can't produce the documents quickly is a signal to slow down.
Does this mean builder floors are a bad bet right now? An honest answer.
Not necessarily, but it depends entirely on whether the specific floor you're looking at was approved before the freeze.
- Existing S+4 buildings with a sanctioned plan and a valid OC remain fully legal; this freeze blocks new approvals, it doesn't undo old ones
- The freeze is a response to an infrastructure audit ordered by the court, not a verdict against the S+4 concept itself
- Haryana has reinstated this policy before, in 2024, after an earlier suspension, so this looks like an iteration, not necessarily a permanent end
- Reduced fresh approvals mean tighter future supply of new S+4 stock, which can support resale value on floors that are already legally sanctioned
- No new S+4 building plan can be sanctioned while the portal and OBPAS submissions stay disabled, whatever a listing promises
- There's no confirmed date for when approvals resume; track the High Court proceedings and DTCP notifications, not developer marketing
- DLF Phases 1 to 4 and the named HSVP sectors carry extra uncertainty, given they were flagged directly in the court's infrastructure findings
- A brochure calling a floor "S+4 ready" is not proof of a sanctioned plan or OC. Only the documents are proof
The paperwork on a builder floor matters more than the pitch.
Builder floors get sold on rental yield and per-square-foot value, and both of those arguments are usually real. What clients skip is confirming the floor they're buying is actually sanctioned, not just physically built. This policy has flipped back and forth enough times, 2023, 2024, and now twice in 2026, that assuming a 4th floor is legal because it's already standing is a real risk in some pockets.
My rule with clients right now: I want to see the sanctioned drawing and the OC date before we talk about price. If a floor doesn't have one, we treat it as a construction risk, not a ready asset, and price the conversation accordingly.
If you're weighing a builder floor anywhere in Gurugram, DLF, Sushant Lok, South City, Palam Vihar, an HSVP sector, or New Gurgaon, send me the location and I'll help you check its actual approval status before you move forward.
Frequently asked questions.
What is a Stilt+4 (S+4) floor?
Has Haryana permanently banned Stilt+4 construction?
What happens to S+4 floors that were already approved and have an Occupancy Certificate?
Which Gurugram areas are most affected by the freeze?
How do I check if a specific plot or floor is legally approved for S+4?
Looking at a builder floor in Gurugram?Verify the approval first.
Share the location and floor. Rashmi will help you check the sanctioned plan, OC status, and whether the pocket is one the court flagged, before you put money down.