For years builders quoted prices on super built-up area, a figure that includes a share of common spaces such as lobbies, stairwells, and lift shafts. Carpet area — the usable floor space inside your walls — is smaller, and that gap is where buyer confusion has lived.
The three measurements
- Carpet area is the net usable floor area within the walls of the unit, excluding the thickness of the walls themselves.
- Built-up area adds the wall thickness and the balcony.
- Super built-up area adds a proportional share of common areas, often expressed through a loading factor.
What RERA changed
Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, builders must disclose and sell on carpet area. This removes the discretion that allowed two projects with the same headline price to deliver very different usable space.
How to compare prices
Always reduce a quoted price to rupees per carpet-area square foot before comparing two projects. A unit that looks cheaper on super built-up area can be more expensive once you adjust for loading. The Propvidhi Index uses carpet-area pricing for the same reason.