How the carpet area of row house calculated?

The carpet area is defined as the sum total of inner area of a row house including stairs etc as they are of exclusive use by the resident. So you have to add all the inner areas of the bedrooms, drawing room, kitchen, bathroom, store etc to calculate the carpet area. As the row house is an independent unit and stairs are used by the resident exclusively it is also to be added in the carpet area.

Now there will be walls around the rooms and partition walls inside the house. These walls will also take some base area and if we calculate this area and add to the carpet area then we get the built-up area. Generally carpet area can be anything in the range of 75-85% of built-up area depending upon the thickness of the walls.

When you calculate same thing for a flat in a multi-storeyed building then the common stairs and lobbies are not added to the individual flat for carpet area/ built-up area but a pro rated figure arrived after calculating such area and dividing it by the number of flats is added to the individual flat.

As people are not aware of these things the some of the builders and the real state agents usually cheat and fool the people in these calculations. Now the Govt has asked the builders to sell the house or flat based upon the carpet area rather than the built-up area. I do not know what is the current scenario in that guideline.

Long back, I purchased a flat in a multi-storeyed / multi towered society and all the documents were mentioning the built-up area as 1250 sq. ft. The builder asked me to pay the price as per that square feet only. When I asked what is the carpet area, he did not tell as that was not mentioned anywhere but as I insisted he showed me rough calculation by adding all the common area and dividing by number of flats and the carpet area came to about 925 sq. ft. But this was not mentioned in any document like registry or sale deed or things like that.

If you see the above data the ratio comes to about 1.35 (built up area divided by carpet area) and is a common practice in our country.

For example the builder will say that you have to pay say Rs 5000 per sq. ft. which means that for 1250 sq. ft. you have to pay around Rs 62.5 lakhs. But if you calculate as per carpet area you are paying Rs 6760 per sq. ft. of carpet area. So these are the marketing gimmicks and one should be able to decipher it for understanding purposes so that builder should not assume that we are gullible people and do not know these basic behind the envelope calculations which a class X student even can work out easily.

Anyway you have to pay the market rate when you buy a house. But I always suggest people that talk with the builder on these points and check them thoroughly before making any part payment or advance payment. When you ask questions, slowly they will divulge the details. So have patience and get all the crucial information and check with their documentation. Generally the builders will not tell you the hidden charges. Grill them and get the details. You are paying money and you have every right to ask even the most silly questions which of course generally baffle them much.

Row houses are with same amenities similar to luxury homes, with a more built-up area, extra undivided share of land and the space for more in-house amenities.
Carpet area means the area where carpet can be spread. We can also define it as the area where the tiles are laid on the floor. This is the actual area which we use in our house. You will get it by multiplying the inner dimensions of the house i.e. length x Breadth of a room. The carpet area will be around 70 to 80% of the built-up area. The stairs going upstairs are also covered under this carpet area as we exclusively use it. If it is a multistoried building you have to add the total carpet area of all the levels. Builtup area will come by adding all other common areas also.
The builder will always say the built-up area only. Generally, 20 to 30% of this area will go out and the remaining only is actually useful to us with exclusive availability.

Very interesting question

First of all let us see what all are important types of areas in buildings.
1. Carpet Area
2. Buildup Area/Plinth area
3. Super buildup Area.

1. Carpet Area :

As the name says, carpet area means the areaa covered with carpet or tiles area or useable area or personal space area. Simply you can say length x breadth of all individual rooms like
•All Rooms – Living Room, Bedrooms, Dining Room, Dressing Room, Other Rooms.
•Kitchen and Bathrooms
•Stores and Balconies

Which areas are not included in carpet area are :
•External thickness and Internal thickness of walls
•Common Areas

Note: Balconies are included in carpet area but terraces or if any unit attached to a the main area are not included by the developer for selling purpose.
As a thumb rule you can say carpet area is equals to 85 to 90 % of buildup area.

2. Built Up Area/ Plinth Area

Built Up Area/Plinth Area is the total covered area of the apartment. Carpet area + thickness of external & internal walls + utility ducts inside the property.

As a rule of thumb, built up area is equal to 1.10× carpet area.

It is very important to know while dealing with government taxes. This buildup area is used while paying the property taxes in many states.


Which areas are included in Built Up Area/ Plinth Area :
•Entire carpet area
•Internal and External Walls
•Utility Ducts within walls of the unit

•Common Areas not included in Built Up Area/ Plinth Area

3. Super Built Up Area

Super Built Up Area means
1. Carpet Area + wall thickness+utility ducts of units
2. Built up area + common areas.

Areas included in Super Built Up Area
•Entire Built Up Area
•Common Areas – lobby, lift ducts, staircases, pipe ducts/ shafts, air ducts, covered community centres/ clubs, other covered common facilities.

Areas not included in Super Built Up Area
•Roof Terrace
• Parks, gardens, play grounds etc.

Example :

Assume the carpet area is 100 sq.ft & the apartment is 5 floors.

Total carpet area of all the units in apartments: 5X100 sft = 500 sft

Total common area of the apartments: 100sft

Total development area for sale = 500+100sft = 600 sft

Common area to carpet area ratio = 100/600 sft = 16.67%

Developer Sale area of each apartment floor = Carpet area X (1+16.67%)

Therefore = 100 sftX (1+16.67%) = 116.67sq.ft

The developer should ideally sell it at 100+116.67 sq.ft