In the process of searching for our dream home we sometimes messed up with frequently used real estate terminologies which are actually the decisive factors while selecting the right projects. We know our requirements of room sizes or total area of flat for our dream home. Whereas builder uses the term Saleable area and calculates the Basic Selling price (BSP) on it. Since BSP is the Basic rate multiplied by Saleable Area, therefore the total cost of the flat mainly depend upon the basic rate and saleable area. It is important to note here that the area for which you are paying is an important factor for comparison between different residential projects. Here i am going to describe certain terminologies such as carpet area, built up area, Super built-up area and Loading Factor etc. Each of these terms has its own method of calculation. It is imperative that the definition as well as the correct way of calculation is to be known so that you can bargain with builder while you are indulging in property dealing or enquiry about the project.
What is Carpet Area?
Meaning of carpet area: According to Regulation and Development Act, 2016, carpet area is defined as the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment. It means the total floor areas inside the external wall, excluding the areas of service ducts as per floor plan is called carpet area. As per RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act) areas covered by Internal walls are also covered under Carpet Area, It also, include the balcony or verandah if it is exclusive for the flat owner. Carpet area is the net usable floor area of apartment which is meant for the exclusive use of allotee or flat owner.
RERA also dictates builder to charge only for Carpet Area, therefore it is important to verify the area for which builder has given the price. The buyer should pay only for the Net usable area which is the carpet area and not for the common areas.
Carpet area is also important to get an idea of the room sizes, because ultimately how spacious are the Rooms, Hall, Kitchen and Toilets which matters. A flat of 1200 Sq.ft. carpet area is much spacious then if it is mentioned as Super built-up area.
How to calculate carpet area of a house:
We just take the floor area of all the rooms including kitchen, bathroom, toilets and exclude the thickness of the external walls and utility ducts. The balcony or verandah area is to be included if it is exclusive for the allotee. Carpet area is generally measured in square feet. To calculate Carpet area you need to note down the measurements of Length and breadth for each rooms given in the floor plan and calculate area of each Rooms as follows.
for example the area of kitchen given in pic below is 4′ x 9’=36 square feet . Similarly find the area of each space and add together to find the total floor area.
What is Built up area?
Meaning of Built up area: It is the total size of the apartment/flats including balcony, walls, and utility area. This term is used for construction purpose only, generally builders use Super built-up area to sell flats. Built-up area includes area of external walls, ducts , excluding common areas.
How to calculate built-up area of a flat?
Built-up area is calculated by adding the area of walls, ducts, terrace and balcony to the carpet area of a flat. Although only a certain percentage of Balconies and terraces areas are added by builders. There are no standard practices as of now. As a rule of thumb Built-up area is calculated by adding 10% to Carpet area.
What is plinth area??
Plinth area is the same as built up area and is calculated in the same way as built-up area. Plinth area is most common in US and used for government departmental building for levying property taxes.
What is Super Built-up area??
Meaning of Super Built-up Area: It includes the total area of the house/apartment/flats, the common areas in the premises and the amenities provided by the builder like swimming pools, gymnasium, clubhouses etc. Open areas like gardens, parks, playhouses are also included in the super built-up area.
Builders generally used this terms (Super Built-up area or Super Area) to sell their apartments and calculates the Basic Selling Price (BSP) for each flats. Since this is most commonly used in buying and selling, therefore this is also called as Saleable area. Super built-up area is usually 20% to 50% more than the Carpet Area, or in real estate terminology we say there is loading of 20% -50% on each flats. Understanding right way of calculating Saleable area and Loading factor is very much important to choose your dream home project.
How to calculate super built-up area of a flat?
Super built up area is calculated by adding the built up area with all the common areas in the premises. Areas of amenities such as swimming pools, gymnasium, gardens, parks etc are also to be added, only roof terrace are not included.
There is another term called Loading Factor which is most frequently used in real estate projects dealings. It is used to identify the percentage of common areas from the Super built area of any real estate projects. Since cost of common areas are recovered from buyers only, therefore it is an extra loading on individual flat buyers. Suppose a Builder fixes the loading factor of 25%for any building, It means you will be charged for 25% more areas in addition to the carpet area he is offering. In simple terms the super built up area is 25% more than the Carpet area. The calculation of Loading factor is as follows.
Loading factor is expressed in percentage, e.g 25%
Some Builder misguide people by saying that 25% Loading means Carpet area is 75%( 100- Loading factor) of Super built up area. Lets see whats the difference, suppose Super Built up area is 1200 sq.ft, now the actual carpet area by two methods
Right calculation: Carpet area= 1200/1.25=960 sq.ft.
Wrong calculation: Carpet area= 1200 x 0.75=900 sq.ft.
So, in this case builder is offering 60 sq.ft less area for your flat. There have been cases where due to lack of knowledge of the buyer, they are exploited by the builder. buying a flat. So it is important that we understand the differences between these terms thoroughly. I hope this has given some insight on the important terms used during buying and selling of real estate property. Knowing these terms would help to avoid confusions between the buyer and the builder. There would be complete transparency and hence a fair deal between the concerned parties.
