Carpet Area

Definition

Carpet area, as defined in Section 2(k) of the RERA Act 2016, is the net usable floor area of an apartment — the space you can actually walk on and use. It includes the area covered by internal partition walls of the apartment but excludes external walls, areas under service shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area, and exclusive open terrace area. RERA made it mandatory for builders to quote prices and sell on the basis of carpet area, ending the older practice of advertising inflated figures.

Two related terms cause most of the confusion. Built-up area is carpet area plus the thickness of walls and spaces like balconies; carpet area is typically around 80–90% of built-up area. Super built-up area goes further and adds a proportionate share of common spaces — lobbies, staircases, lifts, corridors, clubhouse — and was the figure builders historically used in marketing.

The gap between super built-up area and carpet area is called the loading factor. In most Indian residential projects loading ranges roughly between 20% and 40%, and industry data shows the average across India's top cities has drifted toward the higher end of that range in recent years as amenity-heavy projects became the norm. A flat marketed as 1,300 sq ft super built-up with 30% loading may have only about 1,000 sq ft of carpet area — which is why comparing homes by RERA carpet area is the only apples-to-apples method.

Example

The brochure advertised a 1,200 sq ft flat, but the RERA carpet area disclosed on the state portal was 870 sq ft — a loading of nearly 38%.

Calculators that use this

Related terms

• RERA
• Stamp Duty

More Real Estate terms

• Agreement to Sell
• Conveyance Deed
• Benami Property
• Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

Sources

• 99acres — What is loading factor
• ICICI Bank — Carpet, built-up and super built-up area
• Sobha — Loading factor guide
• IntoLegalWorld — How RERA standardized carpet area