Break It Down: Super Area vs Carpet Area

Let's acknowledge it - the terms and jargon tossed at us by agents and realtors leave us blankly staring most of the time. Let us guide you through the super area vs carpet further for reference.

The words like carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area mostly dodge our sphere of understanding when purchasing a house, or at least cause some perplexity. Every residential complex has three methods for calculating the carpet or super area. They may not all sound entirely different, but there is a massive distinction between carpeted and built-up areas!

In India, various terms like carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area define the area of ??a flat. If you intend to buy a residential property, it is crucial to comprehend the difference between a built-up and a carpet area and a super area. The difference between a built-up area and a carpet area will help you make an informed judgment about buying a property.

What's the super area of ??a carpet? Carpet area means the area that can get covered with carpet or net usable area is called carpet area. The carpet area is the distance between the interior walls and does not include common areas.

What is the carpet area according to ??the RERA?

Home buyers often wonder what the RERA carpet area is. According to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), carpet area means the net usable floor area of ??a flat, excluding the area encircled by external walls, space under utility shafts, exclusive area of ??balcony or verandah, and the whole area of ??open terrace. Still, it has the area covered by internal partitions of the flat.

Explanation -

The term "exclusive balcony or verandah area" means the area of ??the balcony or verandah, as the case may be, corresponding to the net usable floor area of ??the flat, intended for the exclusive use of the allottee. The "exclusive open terrace area" means the open terrace area, which corresponds to the net usable floor area of ??the flat, which aims at the narrow use of the allottee.

Note: If you booked a project under construction and when the apartment gets furnished, there is a difference between the pledged carpet area and the given carpet area, they will refund your money. The carpet area may increase or decrease, so money gets charged. However, the increase cannot be more than 3% of the promised carpet area, and RERA fixes this limit.

How to estimate the carpet area?

The reference to carpet area is general in real estate terminology. Professionals such as civil engineers, contractors, architects, and homeowners often need a quick carpet area calculator. Here is a formula that can get used as a quick carpet area calculation -

The formula for calculating the carpet area is

Area of ??carpet = area of ??bedroom + living room + balconies + toilets – thickness of internal walls

As per the RERA Act, the real estate developer/builder must notify the buyers about the carpet area of ??the property, and it must sketch the carpet area as well as the super built-up area. Property costs must be based on the carpet area, not the superstructure.

Buyers have every right to know the carpet area ratio to the built-up area, and home buyers must ask for the same. The ratio of carpet area vs the built-up area is calculated as space.

Important things about the carpet area

When you buy a house and check the carpet area, you must keep the following things in mind:-

• The builder must include the carpet area in marketing brochures, sales documents, and purchase contracts.
• You must check the actual carpet area given and the carpet area promised; if there is a discrepancy, you must request a refund.

What is a built-up area?

The built-up area of ??the building gets measured from the outer surfaces of the perimeter walls. It is the area of ??the carpet plus the thickness of the wall along with other unused regions of the apartment such as the dry balcony, terrace, flower beds, etc. It is always more significant than the carpet area.

Built-up area = Carpet area + wall area + balcony area

Note: The built-up area is typically 15-30% of the carpet area

Calculation of built-up area

If the built-up area is 1000 square feet, then the carpet area will not be more than 700 square feet. This method is the more straightforward and quick way to know about the built-up and carpet area.

Important things about the built-up area

Know critical things about the built area:-

• The built-up area became the integral unit for determining the actual area to get used.
• The estimated value of the carpet area can get decided based on the knowledge of the built-up area.

What is a super-built-up area?

The super built-up area of ??the building is the sellable area, which includes carpet area, terrace, balconies, areas taken up by walls, and areas taken up by joint/joint construction (e.g. elevator, stairs, etc.). In some cases, developers include luxuries such as a swimming pool, clubhouse, and garden. Builders use the carpet area load factor to arrive at a super built-up area.

According to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), carpet areas, built-up areas, and common areas like staircases and lobbies that the entire building can use are defined as super built-up areas.

Super built-up area = built-up area + common areas (stairs, lobby, elevator, pool, etc.)

Or Built-up area + loading factor

What should you know about the loading factor?

The load factor is the difference between the carpet and super-built-up areas. In broad, a load factor of 1.30 is considered adequate. If the load factor is 1.20, the builder has added 20% area to the area of ??your carpet. The load factor keeps rising depending on tools.

What does the super-built-up area include?

The super built-up area consists of:-

• Built-up area of ??the apartment
• Pipe
• Lift
• Lobby
• Swimming pool
• Clubhouses
• Gym
• Air ducts
• Staircase
• Lobby

Significant things about the super built-up area

Below are crucial things about the built-up area:-

• If the seller sells the property using the built-up area, you must apply for the division of the segments.
• Real estate values based on super-built-up areas can be misleading.

Example of super built-up area calculation

The super built-up area gets calculated differently when more apartments are on a floor.

Assume that Vijay Sharma owns an apartment with a built-up area of ??1,000 square feet on the fifth floor of an apartment complex. On the same floor, Kishan Lal owns a flat with a built-up area of ??2,000 square feet, and the total common floor area is 1500 m2.

Now, to calculate the super built-up area of ??two flats, the builder would divide the ratio of the built-up areas of the flats (1:2 in this case). Then he will add 500 square feet of extra space to Vijay Sharma's total built-up area, carpet area, and an additional 1000 sq. ft. in Lal's built-up area. The super built-up area of ??Vijay Sharma's flat is 1500 sq ft, and Lal's flat is 3000 sq ft.

How do you calculate the carpet, built-up, and super built-up area?

Mr Sridharan wants to buy a flat in Indiranagar, Bangalore. The builder proposed the sale of an apartment whose built-up area is 1500 m2; the built-up area includes the balcony and the wall area. In this case, the carpet area will be 1350 square feet.

In general, the carpet area is 90% of the built-up area. If Mr Sridharan wishes to calculate the super built-up area, it would be more than 1500 square feet as it will add space for additional facilities. Generally, the super built-up area is 25% more than the built-up area; in this case, it will be (1500 sq ft + 375 sq ft (25% of 1500) = 1875 sq ft).

On the part of the developer or builder, it is reasonable and essential to define the net usable area of ??the building. As the 2D and 3D diagrams are created in Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software, it is very straightforward to define the area of ??internal walls, external walls, and common areas.

Since ongoing or under-construction projects are also covered under RERA, the selling price quoted by the developer on the super built-up area has to get adjusted according to the carpet area.

What is the difference between carpet, built-up, and super built-up areas?

A simple table to comprehend the difference between carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area:

Conclusion

Different terms such as carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area are used to define the area of ??an apartment. When buying a residential flat, it is crucial to know the difference between a built-up area, a carpet area, and a super area. Experts try to explain what carpet area means and the difference between these terms.

The carpet area is the distance between the interior walls. Common areas such as the elevator, lobby, etc., are not included under the carpet. It is the built-up area plus the thickness of the wall, together with other unused regions of the apartment, such as a dry balcony, terrace, flower beds, etc.

It is always more than the area of ??the carpet. The super built-up area of ??the building is the sellable area that contains the carpet area along with the terrace, balconies, areas taken up by walls, and areas taken up by joint/joint construction (e.g., elevator, stairs, etc.).

Whenever you buy a home, real estate agents or builders will hurl this jargon at you, which can lead to bewilderment, such as what is carpet area or built-up area vs carpet area. Always remember that if you don't want to get confused, you need to understand the meaning of these words and know the calculation formula.