Carpet area, built up area and super built up area. A simple approach to flat buying in India.

So you are out to buy a flat/ apartment and have a few options in front of you. Lets say you like this nice 3 BHK flat with an area tag of 1500 Square Feet. Awesome. Let us use that example and clarify a few terms.

1. Super built up area (also called sale able area) - This is the area which you will be charged for. In your case, 1500 Square Feet as mentioned above. You see an apartment complex/ residential project does not just comprise of flats. There are staircases, lifts, common lobbies, constructed common areas, gymnasium and other facility areas (if provided in the project), the community hall and other common areas. These common areas are proportionately loaded to the built up area of your flat/ apartment. All your documentation will be based on this area. Agreement, extra charges calculation as well as conveyance! Feel free to ask the broker/ sales agent what is the percentage of loading in the particular project. If in doubt, ask for an area statement of your flat. It should be easily available. Super built area statement (flat wise) is the first excel sheet the builder churns out from his (sometimes pirated version of) Microsoft Excel. Trust us on this one! 

2. Built up area - This is the actual area of your flat/ apartment and is the most relevant. The built up area, as the name suggests is the total area of your unit in isolation. This includes walls both internal and external. Consider the outer box from which your flat is carved out of. The built up area is the total area of the outer box. 

In a contemporary project with standard features: Super built up area minus 20% to 33% will get you your built up area, depending on the amount of common areas/ services provided. Once again, if you think the efficiency is very low, seek a written clarification/ calculation.

3. Carpet area - After ten years in the real estate industry, we are still trying to get a fix on this one. Hehe. Jokes apart. This is the area of the flat you are buying where, you can actually lay a carpet on. Period. In many cases it would also include all lofts and cubby holes the design comes with. Never expect the brochure size additions of the rooms and spaces of your flat/ apartment to add up and precisely give you your carpet, built up and super built up areas. However, there lies the advantage of buying a flat from a reputed developer. WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. Okay, give or take a few square feet but almost there.

In a standard project: Built up area minus 10% is the carpet area.

Summary: You choose a 3BHK 1500 Square Feet flat.

Super built up - 1500 Sq ft

Built up - 1125 Sq ft (Considering a 25% minus from super built up area)

Carpet - 1012.5 Sq ft (Considering a 10% minus from built up area)

The wife may be a little upset but this is standard procedure. And its fair. Anything below these deduction figures and we can tell you that the builder is making profits by means that can be far more detrimental to the long term longevity/ durability of the project.

Still have a question? Leave a comment here. We will get back.