Are you planning to buy your home in the near future? If yes, then you should know the exact meaning of terms like carpet area, built up area, super area otherwise you can be fleeced and will end up paying more than the actual cost of a property.Carpet area It is the area enclosed within the walls. You can visualize it as the actual area where one can lay a carpet in a house. This area does not include the thickness of the inner walls. It is the actual area that will be used in an apartment/office etc. the term ‘Carpet Area’ thus, refers to the total usable area within the four walls an apartments or a commercial space, as the case may be.According to Ajay Agarwal, Director of Avalon group, “TO know the carpet area, measure the area of eaxg bedroom, dining room, living room, kitchen and toilets and add them up. Now add half of the area of the terrace and area of any common passage to this total. This is the actual usable space or carpet area of the house you are buying.”

Plinth area

This refers to the entire carpet area along with the thickness of the external walls of the apartment. It obviously includes the thickness of the internal walls and the columns, if any lying within the four walls of an apartment. The commercial space is not taken into account in calculating area along with a share of all common areas proportionately divided amongst all unit owners makes up the ‘super built-up area’. At times, it may also include the common areas such, swimming pool, garden, clubhouse, etc. this term is therefore, only applicable in the case of multi-dwelling units.

Built-up area

It is the carpet area plus the thickness of outer walls and the balcony. It is the total space a house consumes. The area of a terrace is usually considered as half of the built-up area.

Super built-up area

The term refers to the plinth area of an apartment or a commercial unit along with the balconies and other common areas like corridors, staircase, lift room, motor room, security room, meeting hall, gymnasium and an area reserved for indoor games.

Remember the area that is sold to a prospective purchaser, be it a residential apartment building or a commercial building is the super built-up area. The prospective purchaser not only purchase the plinth area along with the balconies but also purchases a proportionate share in all the common areas as mentioned above. “Super built-up area is usually 28 per cent more than the built-up area. The super built-up area is also known as the Saleable Area”, says Sanjay Khanna, Director, Kailash Nath projects Pvt Ltd.

While selling a residential apartment or a commercial space, the super built-up area is always sold along with the proportionate undivided share, right, title and interest in the land on which the residential apartment building or commercial building has been constructed, adds Khanna.