Saleable Area as per RERA includes Carpet Area plus balcony/veranda/terrace area that is exclusively meant for the allottee plus a proportionate share of Common Areas. Also, any other area as agreed between a Promoter and an Allottee in an agreement of sale for which the proportionate cost has been collected from the Allottees.
Important Five terms for the saleable area as per RERA
Carpet Area
It is the net usable floor area of the apartment. It excludes the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah, and exclusive open terrace area. In addition, it includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.
Built-up Area
Built-up area is including a carpet area and the other areas certified by the authorities, such as the area of an outer and inner wall, dry balcony area, etc.
Super built-up Area
It includes the Carpet area with terrace and balconies and the areas occupied by walls. It also includes common and shared construction, such as lift, stairs, and clubhouse. Mostly, builders use the loading factor on a carpet area to arrive at the super built-up area. The super built-up area is a saleable area as per RERA.
Loading factor
The difference between the super built-up area and the flat’s carpet area is a loading factor. It is used to add constructed spaces that are not exclusively allocated to the allottee. It mostly includes shared areas like lifts, lobbies, staircases, amenities, and a part of the terrace and balcony. The loading factor of the 1.20 means – the builder has added 20% to the carpet area. If a residential project does not have many amenities, the loading factor will be less. In most cases, a loading factor of the 1.30 is considered sufficient.
Per square foot rate
It is a rate quoted by a builder. It is typically applied to a super built-up area to determine the price of the flat. The important point is to mention here is that the per-square-foot rate of the flat is based on the super built-up area, which is called a saleable area as per RERA. It includes not only the carpet area of the flat (i.e., the usable area inside the flat) but also some additional areas of the apartment (like balcony and terrace area) and building complex (like lobbies, staircases, passages, etc.).
Therefore, one can ask the developer for a ratio of carpet area to the super built-up area. The higher the ratio of a carpet area to the super built-up area, the more space one will get inside the flat.
Read our article:Guide on RERA Registration for Real Estate Agents
Carpet area under RERA
Saleable Area as per RERA is the Carpet area or a net usable area where one can spread a carpet. The built-up area includes a carpet area and the extra areas certified by the authorities, for instance, the area of the outer & inner walls, dry balcony area. The Super built-up area includes both the carpet area, the built-up area, and also the share of the balance area, like stairs, lobbies and galleries, that can be used by the entire building.
According to the RERA Registration, the carpet area is a net usable floor area of the apartment, which excludes the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, the balcony, or verandah area and the open terrace area. It includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.’
Mandatory disclosure of Saleable Area as per RERA
Buyers have to understand the exact measurement of the flat that they can reasonably expect to receive from the developer. Furthermore, they must know what part of the flat is included in the carpet area, and what part is excluded. Also, the developers will have to be more stringent in planning their projects, to ensure an exact rendition of plans to the actual carpet area.
- There was a practice of including balcony, verandas, terrace, flower beds, and void spaces within the meaning of carpet area, by unscrupulous developers, that has now come to an end.
- In some instances, corner apartments or other such apartments placed at certain advantageous or disadvantageous positions, which usually used to get a little more or less carpet area. In comparison, the apartments at profitable positions with greater carpet areas were always priced at a premium. The ones who lost some carpeted area were never sold at a discount, as the ‘missing’ carpet area was usually obfuscated in the super built-up area.
- Excellent design and efficiency have now become crucial. Previously, an inefficient design, which used too much of common area space, would fare the same as a good design, as both could have the same super built-up area, but different carpet areas.
Conclusion
The price of a flat is usually based on its saleable area as per RERA. However, there are many ways where one can interpret and calculate a saleable area. The saleable area as per RERA has a significant impact on the actual area that one gets, and the total buying price. However, the maximum number of cases registered in consumer courts is against the developers on the issue of cheating regarding the size of a flat. Under the provisions of the RERA Act[1], the developer now has to make buyers aware of a saleable area as per RERA, including the carpet area and quote prices based on this.
Read our article:All You Need To Know About RERA Registration Process
