You may have heard several incidents from your friends and colleagues about being short-changed by builders while buying a property. This usually happens with regard to the size of the house. For example, a property may have been sold with 1,500 square feet area but in reality it may be much less. When you confront the builder, he would say it is 1,500 sq ft, but that is the super built-up area. The house is not as big as the builder had stated based on your calculation.
So, here’s what you need to check before buying a property:
Area of flat:
Property area is measured in three ways carpet area, built-up area, and super built-up area. As a result, there may be a difference between what you are paying for and what you get!
According to the RERA, it is the developer’s responsibility to disclose the carpet area and price of the flat. Dishonest developers sell flats by showing balconies, terraces, verandas, and empty spaces as carpet area.
Carpet area:
The area of the house plays a significant role in determining its price, particularly the area in which you live. This area is called the carpet area.
This is the interior part of the flat where you can lay carpet. In other words, it’s the empty space inside the flat that you use for living.
Living or dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, study rooms, and kitchen are constructed in the carpet area. Balconies, terraces, verandas, and service shafts are not included in it.
Built-up area:
The built-up area is surrounded by external walls. It includes things like pillars, walls, balconies, flower beds, along with the flat’s carpet area.
The built-up area is usually 10 to 15 percent more than the carpet area.
Carpet area, wall thickness, and balcony are taken into account while calculating the built-up area.
Super built-up area:
Super built-up area is the area of a housing society or building that can be sold. It includes builder’s carpet area, terrace, area surrounded by walls, and constructions for common use things like lifts, stairs, lobby, pool, clubhouses, gym, event halls, and gardens etc.
Both, the flat’s built-up area and common area are included in the super built-up area.
Now you can understand how much difference there can be between the area promised to a customer and the actual space of his new flat.
Whenever you buy a flat, builder floor, or ready to move in flat, make sure that you check the carpet area. Don’t trust the builder blindly. Many builders claim super built-up area instead of carpet area and show lower prices. This creates confusion in the mind of buyers.
According to the RERA, a builder cannot add the empty space of a house and show the carpet area.
The builder has to provide information about the carpet area to the RERA authority. If there is any discrepancy in the information provided by the builder, the buyer can complain to the RERA authority. If the discrepancy is proven, the builder can be penalised.
