Carpet, built-up, super built-up: what are you paying for?
Three numbers for one flat. Only one is the floor you walk on.
1 / 6 · THE QUESTION
Three numbers for one flat
A brochure can quote carpet, built-up and super built-up area for the same flat. Only one of them is the floor you will actually walk on.
2 / 6 · CARPET AREA
The floor inside your walls
The net usable area of the flat. Under RERA it includes internal partition walls, but excludes external walls, service shafts, exclusive balconies and open terraces.
3 / 6 · BUILT-UP AREA
Carpet, plus the walls
Usually carpet area plus the thickness of external walls and, often, the balcony. It is an industry convention, not a term RERA defines, so builders calculate it differently.
4 / 6 · SUPER BUILT-UP
Plus your share of the building
Built-up area plus a share of common spaces: lobby, lifts, stairs, corridors, sometimes the clubhouse. The gap between this and carpet area is called loading.
5 / 6 · THE RULE
RERA says: sell on carpet area
For projects registered under RERA, the agreement for sale has to state the carpet area. A price quoted only on super built-up area makes projects hard to compare.
ASK, IN WRITING
“What is the RERA carpet area, and what is the price per square foot of carpet area?”
6 / 6 · THE TAKEAWAY
Compare flats on carpet area only
Divide the all-in price by the carpet area. That single number lets you compare two projects fairly, whatever their brochures say.
SAME FLAT, ₹80 LAKH ALL-IN
₹8,205 per sq ft of super built-up (975 sq ft) looks cheaper. ₹12,308 per sq ft of carpet area (650 sq ft) is the real price.
Educational, not financial advice. Rates and rules change; check the source before acting.
