Built-up and super built-up area

FLATS in the major cities of Maharashtra are generally sold on the basis of built-up area and super built-up area.

Area is generally measured in terms of Square Foot (sq ft) or square meters (sq mt). One sq mt = 10.764 sq ft. To assess the area requirement, one needs to understand the following concepts of saleable area:

Carpet area: Carpet area may be defined as the net usable area. Until two decades back, flats were sold on this basis. Carpet area is the area from the inner sides of wall to wall. However, this concept is rarely used today and as a result, flats today are generally sold on the basis of built-up area and super built-up area.

Built-up area (BUA): BUA, over and above the carpet area, would include the space covered by the thickness of the inner and outer walls of the flat.

The BUA, thus, would generally be around 15 per cent more than the carpet area of the flat. Thus, for a carpet area of 1,000 sq ft, the BUA could work out to be 1,150 sq ft approximately.

Super built-up area: Super BUA, apart from the BUA, is said to include the proportionate common areas on the floor, such as the passage, staircase, and so on. This would usually be around 25-35 per cent of the carpet area. However, there is a tendency of loading even the common areas of the building/project such as the garden, open area, clubhouse and other recreational facilities.

It is to be noted that the above mentioned concepts are for the sake of information only and does not, in anyway, convey our concurrence to the practice of selling at the super built-up area. Hence, it would be incorrect to assume the above mentioned mark-ups as a rule, since the information provided is solely with the purpose of educating people about these terms. It would also be imperative to mention that there appears to be no regulatory control over the percentage loading of area over the carpet area for the purposes of sale on the basis of BUA/SBUA.

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(Source: www.hdfc.com.)

This guidance note is an attempt to help prospective buyers of property. It is for the limited purpose of information only. You are advised to consult your advocate/solicitor before undertaking any transaction/documentation. This information is provided solely for the sake of providing a broad overview to property transactions and the concepts and description of documents within this note are only general descriptions. HDFC undertakes no responsibility of determining the applicability and these concepts and documents in each case.