What is carpet area?
Also called: net usable area, usable carpet area, RERA carpet
Carpet area is the floor space you can actually use inside your flat. Under the RERA Act it counts the internal partition walls but leaves out the external walls, service shafts, exclusive balconies and open terraces.
Since the RERA Act came fully into force in May 2017, builders have had to declare the carpet area of every unit when they register a project, and the agreement for sale has to state it. That single change did more for price transparency than anything before it. Earlier, a Noida or Gurugram brochure would quote only a 'super area', and nobody outside the builder's office could say how much of it was actually inside your front door.
The old trade meaning of carpet was literal: the floor on which you could lay a carpet, so inner walls were excluded too. The statutory definition in Section 2(k) of the Act includes the space under internal partition walls. So if you're comparing a 2012 resale agreement with a new launch, the two 'carpet' figures may not be measured the same way, and the older one will usually look a little smaller for the same flat.
The number to work with is price per sq ft of carpet. A project quoting ₹7,500 on super area can be dearer than one quoting ₹10,500 on carpet once you divide the total price by the real usable floor. Do that sum yourself for every project on your shortlist, using the all-inclusive price rather than the basic rate, and the rankings often change.
At possession, measure the flat room by room with a laser meter. Include the thickness of internal walls, skip the balcony and the outer wall, and check the total against the agreement.
A 2 BHK in Wakad, Pune, marketed at 1,050 sq ft super built-up has a MahaRERA carpet area of 760 sq ft. At ₹85 lakh, you're paying about ₹11,180 per sq ft of carpet, not the ₹8,100 the super-area figure suggests.
Buyers compare one project's carpet rate with another's super-area rate and pick the wrong one as cheaper. Convert every quote to carpet before you compare.
Questions people ask about carpet area
Is the balcony included in carpet area?
Not under the RERA definition. An exclusive balcony or verandah is shown separately in the agreement, and some builders price it at a lower rate or fold it into the unit price, so ask which they've done.
What happens if the flat I get is smaller than the agreed carpet area?
Most state model agreements under RERA allow a variation of up to 3%. If the carpet area shrinks by more than that, the builder has to refund the excess you paid, with interest, before or at possession.