What is the difference between carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area?

Short answer: carpet area is the floor space inside your flat's walls that you can actually use. Built-up area adds the thickness of the walls and usually the balcony. Super built-up area adds your share of common spaces such as lobbies, corridors, lifts, staircases and often the clubhouse. A flat sold as 1,500 sq ft super built-up often has only about 1,100–1,150 sq ft of carpet area.

Carpet area

This is the space you live in: the floor of your rooms, kitchen and bathrooms. Under the RERA Act, it's the usable floor area of the flat, excluding external walls, service shafts and your exclusive balcony or terrace, but including the internal walls between rooms.

Since RERA came in, builders must state the carpet area when they sell. Always ask for it.

Built-up area

Carpet area plus the thickness of the outer walls, and usually the balcony. It's typically 10–15% more than carpet area.

Super built-up area

Built-up area plus your share of everything you use but don't own alone: lobbies, corridors, staircases, lift shafts and, in many projects, the clubhouse and amenity areas.

The difference between super built-up and carpet area is called loading. In Bangalore and Hyderabad it's commonly 25–35%, sometimes more in projects with big amenities.

Why this changes the real price

Most projects still quote a price per sq ft on super built-up area. That makes the rate look lower than what you pay for usable space.

Example: a flat of 1,500 sq ft super built-up at ₹8,000 per sq ft costs ₹1.2 crore. If the carpet area is 1,150 sq ft, you're really paying about ₹10,400 for every sq ft you can use.

So when you compare two projects:

1. Ask both for the carpet area.
2. Divide the total price by the carpet area.
3. Compare those numbers, not the brochure rates.

A project with a higher quoted rate and low loading can be cheaper in practice than one with a low rate and heavy loading.

Is high loading always bad?

Not always. High loading can mean wide corridors, a big clubhouse or lots of open space, which you may value. But you should know you're paying for it, and check that maintenance charges, which are also often calculated on super built-up area, still make sense.

Comparing a few projects and can't tell which is better value? Send them to us. Comparing projects is a big part of what we do.