As a homeowner, how well are you versed with the common terms related to properties? For instance, are you familiar with the concepts of carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area in a property? Knowing these terms is important, as this will help you make informed decisions while investing in a new property.
Well, initially these concepts appear to be the same. To help you understand the differences between RERA carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area, we have come up with this guide.
Here, we have explained these concepts lucidly. Besides, you will get to know how to calculate carpet area and RERA carpet area as you read on. Likewise, we have elucidated how you can calculate built-up area and super built-up area.
When you purchase a property, you usually pay for the number of square feet that you would be living in. So, it’s imperative to clearly understand what you would be paying for, and why you would be shelling out the amount.
When you talk to property brokers, developers, and builders, you would find them using terms like carpet area and RERA carpet area. Also, they use several other terms like loading factor, built up area and super built up area.
To help you understand what these terms are and what they mean for your property purchase, we have explained each of these with relevant examples. Taking a quick glance at this guide would make you better-poised as you start hunting for your ideal home. Why not stay informed and make better decisions when it comes to something as serious as your property purchase?
Carpet area refers to the net usable space in an apartment that you can cover using a carpet. It can be calculated by measuring the distance between the inner walls. The carpet area may include the areas in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, balconies, kitchen, and staircases within the flat or house. Therefore, the carpet area does not include the internal and external walls, common areas, terraces, utility ducts, lifts, and terraces. In a nutshell, the carpet area of an apartment refers to the space that you would be using.
The RERA Act of 2016 defines the RERA carpet area as the net usable area in terms of floor space in an apartment or house. In this calculation, you need to exclude the external area, exclusive balcony, common areas, exclusive terrace area (open), and veranda space. However, it contains the area that the internal partition of walls includes.
In this context, let us understand the concept of an exclusive balcony or verandah space. This refers to the balcony attached to the net usable space on the floor of a flat. This is reserved only for the exclusive use of the property owner or allottee. On the other hand, the exclusive open terrace space is the open area on the terrace attached to the net usable area on the floor of the apartment. It is reserved for the exclusive use of the property owner.
There’s a slight difference between the concepts of carpet area and RERA carpet area. This is just the thickness of the apartment’s internal walls. When you consider RERA carpet area, the thickness of these walls is included in the calculation. However, when you calculate the carpet area of your apartment in general, you need to exclude this thickness. This results in a difference of around 5% between both these types of carpet areas. So, generally, RERA carpet area exceeds the general carpet area by 5%.
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Calculating general carpet area
When you calculate the general carpet area of a property, you need to factor in the floor spaces of the bedroom, living room, balconies, kitchen, and toilets. From the total, subtract the thickness of the inner walls of your apartment.
In most properties, the general carpet area of your flat should be 70% to 90% of the total built-up area.
You can understand the concept better with the help of an example. Let us consider that the total built-up area of an apartment is 1400 Sq. Ft. General carpet area accounts for 80% of this property. Therefore, the general carpet area of the apartment is 1,120 Sq. Ft.
Calculating RERA carpet area
The RERA carpet area of your apartment includes the net usable space along with the thickness of the internal partition walls. Remember, in this case, the net usable area excludes the terrace area, external walls, balcony and verandah area.
Now, considering that there should be a difference of 5% between the general and RERA carpet areas, the latter should be 5% more than 1,120 sq. ft. in the example discussed above.
In an apartment, the built up area refers to the sum of the carpet area and the area of both internal and external walls, the exterior staircase, the balcony, and other areas where you might be living. If your apartment has an exclusive terrace, the built up area would include that as well. In general, this built up area accounts for 70% to 80% of the super built-up area.
While calculating the built-up area in a flat or apartment, you need to consider the RERA carpet area or carpet area, the space occupied by both external and internal walls, corridor, and exclusive balcony.
Normally, the built-up area in an apartment exceeds the carpet area by 10% to 15%. Therefore, if you have a carpet area of 1,120 sq. ft., the built-up area should be around 1,232 sq. ft. or a little more.
Differences between the carpet area and the built up area
Now, let us understand the difference between carpet area and built-up area in an apartment. RERA states that the carpet area is calculated by including the spaces of the living room, bedroom, balconies, toilets, kitchen, and the thickness of the partition walls. On the other hand, the built-up area is calculated by adding the carpet area with the external wall area, balcony, terrace, and exclusive corridor.
Remember, the carpet area is always less than the built-up area. It does not include common areas like a security room, lift, clubhouse, and lobby.
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The saleable area of a property is referred to as the super built-up area. Usually, when you purchase an apartment, you need to pay the rate of floor area based on this value. Therefore, the super built-up area is calculated by adding the exclusive built-up area with common spaces including the staircase, lift, corridor, and other amenities such as the clubhouse.
However, the super built-up area excludes the area of compound walls, open swimming pools, driveways, parks, and open sports facilities. It also excludes play areas, inaccessible gardens, water tanks, underground sinks, and septic tanks.
In this context, it is important to understand the concept of loading factor. The ‘loading factor’ is assigned a percentage, which normally ranges between 25% and 60% of the overall carpet area in your property.
Therefore, if we consider the carpet area of an apartment to be 1,120 Sq. Ft and the loading factor to be 50%, the super built-up area of the flat would be 1,680 sq. ft.
While calculating the super built-up area in an apartment, you need to add the built-up area with the common space in the right proportion. You can also find the super built-up area using the following formula.
Super built up area = RERA carpet area x 1+ loading factor
Let us consider that on the second floor of a property, you own an apartment of 1000 sq. ft. and someone else owns another apartment of 2000 sq. ft. In case the overall area of the common space is 1,500 sq. ft., the developer is likely to split the common area in the same proportion as the built-up area.
Considering this example, there should be a 1:2 ratio. Therefore, the developer will add another 500 sq. ft. to your flat, and 1000 sq. ft. to the other one. This means that the super built-up area of your apartment will be 1500 sq. ft. and that of your neighbour would be 3,000 sq. ft.
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The loading factor in a property refers to the difference in space between the super built-up area and the carpet area. This space is needed to develop amenities like a lobby, elevators, parking zones, and maintenance rooms. In other words, the loading factor includes the space that is not exclusive to any particular property owner in the complex. In case the loading factor is 1.50, it means that the developer has added 50% to the carpet area of your property.
The loading factor can be calculated by subtracting the carpet area from the super built-up area.
How much should be the ideal loading factor be?
In luxury apartments, the loading factor should ideally be under 60%. In case you find that the property has a higher value in terms of loading factor, it implies that the carpet area is smaller, and the super built-up area is larger. This means that developers are selling smaller homes to you. This way, you need to make an informed decision on the amount you shell out while making the property purchase.
What is the difference between a built-up and a super built-up area?
The built-up area in your property includes all the areas of the balcony, carpet, terrace, staircase, and exclusive corridor. Besides, it includes the thickness of the walls. On the other hand, a super built-up area of a property includes the exclusive built-up area along with common spaces like common corridors, lift, clubhouse, and staircases. The carpet area is also called the saleable area.
|
|
CARPET AREA |
BUILT UP AREA |
SUPER BUILT-UP AREA |
|
Living Room / Dining Room |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Bedrooms |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Bathrooms |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Kitchen |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Study Room |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Utility Area |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Servant Room |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Balcony |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Outside Staircase |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Staircase Inside the home |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Terrace |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Verandah |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Lift |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Lobby |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Garden |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Swimming Pool |
No |
No |
Yes |
Conclusion
Before concluding, let’s recap what each of the terms described in this article includes.
The carpet area, built up area, and super-built-up area of a property includes the living room or common hall, bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, dining room, study room, puja room, and the internal staircase. The balcony, utility area, outer staircase, terrace, and verandah are not included in the carpet area. However, these spaces are included in the built up area and super-built-up area of a property. The gardens, lift, and lobby are included only in the super-built-up area, but not in the carpet and built-up areas.
Now that you understand the concepts clearly, you can purchase your dream home with confidence. A lucid understanding of these terms will also help you negotiate with property builders.
FAQs
The carpet area includes the space within the inner walls, while the RERA carpet area also considers the thickness of internal partition walls, resulting in a 5% difference.
The super built-up area is calculated by adding the built-up area to the common spaces in the right proportion. This is often determined by a loading factor.
The loading factor denotes the additional space beyond the carpet area. This is used for amenities like elevators, parking, and maintenance rooms. This is the differentiation between the super built-up area and the carpet area.
Homeowners should understand the common terms related to real estate as this will help them make informed decisions about the purchase. They can also determine whether they are paying the right value for the property. This ensures transparency and helps buyers proceed with the deal with confidence.
