Two flats, same price, one advertised at 1,000 sq ft and one at 800. Which is cheaper? You cannot tell until you know which area each number measures.
The one definition the Act gives
The RERA Act, 2016 defines carpet area in section 2(k) as the net usable floor area of an apartment. It excludes the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, the exclusive balcony or verandah area and the exclusive open terrace area. It includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.
In plain words: carpet area is, roughly, the floor you can put a carpet on, plus the thickness of the walls inside the flat.
Section 4(2)(h) requires a promoter registering a project to state the number, type and carpet area of the apartments, along with the exclusive balcony or verandah areas and the exclusive open terrace areas. That is why carpet area is the number you can verify.
A fair comparison in three steps
- Ask for carpet area in square feet or square metres, in writing, and check it against the registered project details on the state authority's site.
- Divide price by carpet area to get the price per sq ft of carpet. Do it for every option.
- Compare the loading. The gap between carpet area and the area a seller quotes (often called saleable, built-up or super area) is a sum you are paying for. It may include shared areas such as lobbies and amenities. Ask what is included, and what each part costs.
A worked example (invented numbers, for the arithmetic only)
Flat A: price 1.20 crore, quoted area 1,000 sq ft, carpet area 650 sq ft. Flat B: price 1.10 crore, quoted area 900 sq ft, carpet area 560 sq ft.
- On quoted area: A is 1,20,00,000 / 1,000 = 12,000 per sq ft. B is 1,10,00,000 / 900 = about 12,222 per sq ft. They look almost the same.
- On carpet area: A is 1,20,00,000 / 650 = about 18,462 per sq ft. B is 1,10,00,000 / 560 = about 19,643 per sq ft.
Per usable foot, A is cheaper by roughly 6%, even though B has the lower price. The headline number did not tell the story.
Do not forget
Other costs sit on top of the price: stamp duty, registration, GST on under-construction homes, legal fees and brokerage. Our NRI Total Cost Calculator lets you add them up with editable rates. Every rate there is marked to be verified until you check it against the official source.
This is general information, not legal advice.
