DHA Defence — the Defence Housing Authority, Lahore — is the city's largest planned community and, for many families, the address they work towards. It is run by its own authority, which plans the roads, parks, markets and utilities and handles every transfer of property inside it.
How DHA Lahore is laid out
DHA grows in numbered phases. The older ones, closer to the city, are fully built up with mature trees and established markets; the newer ones further east and south are still filling in, with more open plots and newer houses. Each phase is split into lettered sectors and blocks, and each has its own commercial area — Y Block market in Phase 3 is the best known — so daily shopping is rarely more than a few minutes away.
Lahore's Ring Road runs along DHA, which makes the airport, Gulberg and the motorway quick to reach. LUMS, one of Pakistan's leading universities, sits inside DHA as well.
Who it suits
- Families who want quiet streets, parks, good schools nearby and controlled entry.
- Buyers looking for a long-term hold — DHA files and plots are among the most traded property in the city.
- Renters who want a modern house without building one: rental houses here are plentiful, especially in the 10 marla and 1 kanal sizes.
What to check before you buy
- Phase and block. Prices and how built-up the street is vary a lot between phases — compare like with like.
- File or plot. In newer phases you may be offered a file (a right to a plot yet to be allotted) rather than a plot with a number. Files are cheaper but carry the risk of delay.
- Transfer through DHA. Every sale is transferred at the DHA office, and the authority checks dues and ownership — never pay the full amount before the transfer.
- Marla size. DHA counts a marla as 225 sq ft, so a kanal is 4,500 sq ft. Use our marla and kanal converter to compare with plots elsewhere.
Below you'll find today's typical prices per marla in DHA, a map of what's listed, and the latest homes and plots for sale and rent.
