Skip to content

How do you read a development plan?

Before any OIB question counts, the development plan decides what may stand on the plot at all. It is municipal law based on state law, and a little different in every state. Piloti reads it along as soon as it is in the project.

In short

A development plan (Bebauungsplan) is a municipal regulation that, based on the state’s spatial planning or building law, sets how a plot may be built on, for example with building lines, building height or Bauklasse, building pattern and density; what exactly it contains and what it is called is up to each state. Piloti reads it as soon as it is in the project and names the provision it relies on.

Try it with a real questionChecked: September 2026

What a development plan is

The zoning plan (Flächenwidmungsplan) says what an area is zoned for, such as residential building land or green land. The development plan says how the building land may be built on. Both are municipal regulations, issued under the state’s spatial planning act or building code.

Names and contents differ. In Vienna, the zoning and development plan is one plan document under the Bauordnung für Wien, and it sets the Bauklasse. Other states have development plans, partial development plans or development guidelines, and not every plot is covered by one.

How Piloti helps

The “Bebauung” way of working clarifies what may be built on a plot: Bauklasse or building height, side distances, zoning, density, parking, under state and municipal law, not OIB. If the development plan is in the project, Piloti reads it too and names the provision it relies on.

What it typically contains

  • Building lines, alignment lines or building limits: where the building may stand and where it must connect.
  • Height: depending on the state as Bauklasse, as building or eaves height or as number of storeys, each with its own measuring rules.
  • Building pattern: open, semi-detached, closed, and with it whether and how one builds to the neighbouring boundary.
  • Density and plot use, roof form, parking, green areas and special provisions that apply only to that area.

How to read it

  1. 01

    Pin the version

    Note the plan number or plan document and the date of promulgation. A plan under revision can look different in a few months.

  2. 02

    Legend and symbols

    Every line and abbreviation has a meaning set in the legend or the state’s plan symbols regulation, not in everyday language.

  3. 03

    Written provisions

    The provisions in words are part of the plan. They often hold what a submission fails on: roof pitch, fencing, greening.

  4. 04

    Close the gaps

    What the plan does not govern, state law governs with its general provisions, for example on distances.

Good to know

What the development plan fixes for this very plot, Piloti reads from the plan in the project. If it is not there, it says so and where to look, instead of assuming a provision.

Questions

Where do I find the development plan for my plot?

With the municipality, in larger cities with the responsible office, and in many states in the state’s geoportal. In Vienna, the zoning and development plan can be viewed online on the city’s site. It is generally not in the RIS.

What is the difference between a zoning plan and a development plan?

The zoning plan sets what an area may be used for, such as building land or green land. The development plan sets how the building land may be built on: position, height, building pattern, density. In Vienna both are combined in one plan document.

What applies if there is no development plan?

Then the general provisions of state law apply, for example on distances and on fitting into the surroundings. What they say differs from state to state; the municipal building authority can tell you.

Is the Bauklasse in the development plan the same as the building class?

No. The Bauklasse, for example in Vienna, governs the permitted building height under the building code. The building class comes from the OIB guidelines and mainly steers fire safety.

Read on