CHAPTER 101 Area Calculations for Commercial and Residential Buildings

1. Carpet Area is the area that you actually get inside the house. Carpet Area literally means it is the area available to lay a carpet if you intended to! This is actually the area that you are going to pay your money for. Though the regulations require builders to quote rates for carpet area, they still dont and do it only in the agreement by merely converting the cost. 2. Built-up Area apart from the Carpet Area takes into account the thickness of the internal and outer walls and also the area of the balcony. The built-up area is generally never used for commercial discussions. 3. Super Built-up Area (also known as the Saleable Area) is relevant to multi-dwelling units and is the one term you will hear often. It includes the area for common use like lobby, lifts, staircase etc. In current scenarios, it also takes into account amenities like clubhouse, swimming pools, garden etc. All this is proportionally divided amongst the flats. The Loading Factor is derived here which is applied on the carpet areas to get the Super Built -up Area or the Saleable Area. 4. Loading Factor: Defined as the ratio between Super Built up area and Carpet Area Loading factor= Super Built up Area/ Carpet Area. Therefore Saleable Area=Loading Factor*Carpet Area 5. Efficiency is the ratio between carpet area to super built up area Efficiency= (Carpet area/Super Built up Area)*100 Efficiency= (1/Loading Factor)*100 Loading Factor for Residential buildings generally is 1.25. So the efficiency of residential buildings is (1/1.25)*100=80% Loading Factor for Commercial buildings (retail i.e shops) generally is 2. So the efficiency of residential buildings is (1/2)*100=50% Loading Factor for Commercial buildings (offices) generally is 1.43. So the efficiency of residential buildings is (1/1.43)*100=70% Example: The carpet Area of a house is 1000 SFT. However the developer charges the client for 1300 SFT. Find the loading factor and the efficiency. Find the cost of the house if the developer quotes a rate of Rs 3000/SFT. Here the saleable area(super built up Area)=1300 SFT Loading factor= Super Built up Area/ Carpet Area. =1300/1000 =1.3 Efficiency =(1/1.3)*100=76.9%

Cost of the house ( always calculated on saleable area unless specified)=Rs 3000*1300=Rs 39,00,000 Cost of the house on carpet area= 3900000/1000=Rs3900 TIP: Be careful when the developer quotes the rate on saleable area or carpet area!! Always ask him before making the payments.

Question in Gate: 2013 In case of residential apartments, the effective floor area available for use within an apartment, is known as (A) Carpet Area (C) Plinth Area ANSWER- A- Carpet Area (B) Built-up Area (D) Super Built-up Area