A fourth-floor builder floor in Gurugram is not automatically illegal, but in 2026 it carries real risk. The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the stilt-plus-four (S+4) policy in April 2026 and later limited that stay to Gurugram. On 21 July 2026 the town planning department suspended all new S+4 approvals. A fourth floor with a sanctioned plan and an occupation certificate is in a very different position from one sold on a promise that “approval will come”.

Updated 13 October 2026. We read The Tribune's coverage of the April stay, the May hearing and the July approval freeze, along with other reporting and the guides that rank for this search. We found no report that the stay has been lifted or approvals restarted as of today. If you are new to builder floors, start with Independent Builder Floors in Gurgaon: A Buyer's Guide.

What does stilt plus 4 mean?

Stilt plus four means an open stilt level at the ground for parking, with four residential floors above it, built on an individual residential plot. Each floor is usually sold as a separate builder floor with an undivided share in the land.

Haryana previously allowed stilt plus three on such plots. A notification of 2 July 2024 allowed a fourth floor, which is the notification the High Court has now put under scrutiny. The policy also included a composition route that let some constructions be regularised without prior building plan approval, and the court's stay covered that too.

Stilt plus 4 latest news: what happened in 2026?

  • 2 April 2026: A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry stayed the operation of the July 2024 S+4 notification, observing that the state had put revenue ahead of public safety and had not audited infrastructure capacity (The Tribune)
  • 27 April 2026: The court limited the stay to Gurugram, because the infrastructure reports it relied on were city-specific. It allowed authorities to remove encroachments and violations following due process (Swarajya)
  • 30 April 2026: The Tribune reported a citywide survey of S+4 buildings, including VIP localities, aimed at stilt parking converted to other uses and floors built beyond approved plans. Notices and restoration orders were to follow
  • 4 May 2026: The High Court was told that about 2,000 notices had been issued in Gurugram for covered stilt areas and about 500 restoration orders passed. Internal roads in DLF Phase-I, Sector 28 measured 3.9–4.8 metres of motorable width against a prescribed 10–12 metres. The court said the entire policy is subject to the outcome of the PIL (The Tribune)
  • 21 July 2026: A Town and Country Planning memo suspended all S+4 approvals until further orders, including related layout and zoning plans, and told its IT wing to disable the S+4 portal and the online building plan approval system (The Tribune, 22 July)

This is not the first pause. PropNewsTime reported in September 2024 that the department had suspended S+4 in February 2023 while an expert committee looked at it, before issuing guidelines in July 2024. Buyers should expect the rules to keep changing until the court gives its final decision.

Is a 4th-floor builder floor in Gurgaon safe to buy now?

It depends entirely on the paperwork. A floor in a building whose plan was sanctioned for four floors before the stay, and which has an occupation certificate, is far safer than a floor still under construction or one with only a pending application. The approval freeze stops new sanctions. It does not create approval for buildings that never had it.

Enforcement is focused on violations: stilt parking that has been enclosed, floors that go beyond the sanction, and encroachments onto the road. A fourth floor can be fully approved and still be part of a building that gets a notice, for example if a ground-floor owner has walled in the stilt.

Our view: buy a fourth floor only if it is sanctioned, built and has an occupation certificate, and only after a property lawyer has checked the file. Do not buy one that is sold on a future approval. Expect resale on fourth floors to be slower and more closely negotiated until the court decides.

What papers should I ask for before paying a token?

  • Sanctioned building plan: it must show stilt plus four floors, with the sanction date and the authority (DTCP, HSVP or MCG, depending on the colony)
  • Occupation certificate for the whole building, not just a plot licence or a completion letter from the builder
  • Road width: measure the motorable road in front yourself and compare it with the width the sanction relied on
  • Stilt parking: check that the stilt is open as approved, with no rooms, shops or walls, and that your parking slot is named in the sale deed
  • Notices: ask in writing whether any DTCP, HSVP or municipal notice or restoration order has been issued on the plot, and look for notices pasted on the property
  • Title: a registered sale deed giving you an undivided share of the land, a 30-year title search, and a check that the floor is not mortgaged
  • Bank view: a home-loan sanction is a useful independent legal check, because lenders will not usually fund an unsanctioned floor
  • Token terms: make the token refundable in writing if the documents above are not provided or do not match

For how occupation and completion certificates work in Haryana, and how to read them, see Occupation and Completion Certificates in Haryana: What to Check Before You Take Possession. Once the paperwork is clear, the conveyance and registration steps are at Conveyance Deed Haryana: Charges, Stamp Duty, Builder Delay.

I already own a 4th-floor S+4 unit. What should I do?

  • Put together your file: sanctioned plan, occupation certificate, sale deed and any composition or approval fee receipts
  • Make sure the stilt is open. The 2026 notices have targeted covered stilts, and a neighbour's violation can draw action against the building.
  • If you get a notice, reply within the time given, with your documents, through a lawyer. The High Court has said enforcement must follow due process.
  • Keep up with the PIL. The final decision on the policy will matter for sanctioned buildings, as the court has said the whole policy is under test

Which parts of Gurgaon are most affected?

Older plotted sectors and licensed colonies where four floors were added on narrow internal roads, such as the DLF Phase-I belt cited in court. Sector guides that cover builder-floor stock include DLF Phase 1 Gurgaon: Prices, Floors, Metro and Who It Suits (2026 Guide) and Sector 23 and 23A Gurgaon: Buyer's Guide 2026 — Large Floors, Palam Vihar Metro and Prices.

If you want a low-rise home without this uncertainty, newer sectors also offer plotted and villa options, compared at Villas and Independent Floors in New Gurgaon: What to Buy in 2026.