Carpet area is the usable floor area inside your flat, including internal partition walls but excluding external walls, service shafts and your exclusive balcony, verandah and open terrace. Built-up area adds the external walls and, under Rajasthan’s RERA agreement form (Form-G), all balconies. Super built-up area adds your share of common areas such as lobbies, lifts and staircases. Under RERA, developers must disclose carpet area, and Rajasthan’s prescribed agreement for sale fixes the price on carpet area. The gap between carpet and super built-up area, called loading, is space you pay for outside your flat’s usable floor area.
The three measures at a glance
| Measure | What it includes | Where it is defined |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet area | Usable floor area plus internal partition walls. Excludes external walls, service shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah and exclusive open terrace | RERA Act 2016, section 2(k) |
| Built-up area | Area within the flat’s walls, all balconies (covered or uncovered) and wall thickness, counting half of any shared wall | Rajasthan’s RERA agreement for sale (Form-G) |
| Super built-up area | Built-up area plus a share of common areas such as lobbies, lifts, staircases and amenities | Not defined in the RERA Act or Rajasthan’s RERA Rules. Each developer sets its own |
Carpet area: the only measure the RERA Act defines
Section 2(k) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 defines carpet area as “the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.”
Your balcony, verandah and open terrace still appear on paper: section 4(2)(h) requires a developer registering a project to disclose them separately from carpet area.
For a rough check, measure each room, kitchen and toilet wall to wall, add the area under internal partition walls, and leave out balconies, shafts and external walls. Compare the total with the RERA carpet area in your agreement. Pre-RERA brochures may define carpet area differently, so ask which definition any figure follows.
Built-up area: what Rajasthan’s agreement form says
The Act does not define built-up area, but Form-G, the model agreement for sale prescribed by Rajasthan’s RERA Rules, 2017, does. It is the area “encompassed within the walls of Apartment or Flat, all balconies, whether covered or un-covered, and thickness of wall”, counting only half of any wall shared with a neighbour. The current Form-G, amended in August 2022, keeps this definition and the clauses quoted below.
Rajasthan’s Apartment Ownership Rules, 2020 use a similar but not identical definition that also counts projections, and some industry definitions add only the external walls and leave balconies out. Ask which definition a quoted built-up figure follows. An August 2026 explainer from lender L&T Finance puts built-up area at typically 10 to 20 percent above carpet area, varying by project. That is an industry rule of thumb, not a regulatory figure.
Super built-up area: the number RERA does not define
Super built-up area, or super area, adds a share of everything you use in common with other residents: lobbies, lifts, staircases, clubhouse, amenities and sometimes terraces. Neither the RERA Act nor the Rajasthan Rules define it, so each developer decides what goes in.
The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Gurugram, in its carpet-area sale regulations dated 7 May 2021, called builder definitions of super area “vague” and sale on super area “illegal, misleading, ambiguous, opaque”, and required sale on carpet area only. Those regulations were made for Gurugram district alone, and we know of no Rajasthan equivalent, so read them as one regulator’s view, not Rajasthan law.
Rajasthan’s Rule 4(3), covering projects already under way when RERA registration began in 2017, requires the developer to disclose apartment size on carpet area “even if earlier sold on any other basis such as super area, super built up area, built up area”.
Loading: a worked example
Loading is the area added to carpet area to reach super built-up area. This guide measures it over carpet area:
Loading percentage = (super built-up area minus carpet area) divided by carpet area, multiplied by 100
Take a hypothetical flat with 1,000 sq ft of carpet area, quoted at 1,400 sq ft super built-up and ₹4,000 per sq ft of super built-up area.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Carpet area | 1,000 sq ft |
| Super built-up area quoted | 1,400 sq ft |
| Loading area | 400 sq ft |
| Loading, measured over carpet area | 40% |
| Same loading, as a share of super built-up area | about 28.6% |
| Rate quoted on super built-up area | ₹4,000 per sq ft |
| Total price | ₹56 lakh |
| Effective rate per sq ft of carpet area | ₹5,600 |
Same flat, same ₹56 lakh, but the carpet-area rate is 40 percent above the headline figure. That is why two quotes at the same super built-up rate can buy very different amounts of living space.
Watch the base. Measured over super built-up area, the same 400 sq ft reads as only 28.6 percent. Both formulas are in use: the property portal CommonFloor, for example, prefers the carpet-area base but says the super built-up base is more common. Ask which formula a developer uses.
How high does loading run? There is no official benchmark. Neither the RERA Act nor Rajasthan’s RERA Rules cap loading, and we are not aware of a reliable published figure for Jaipur, so compare quotes on the same formula.
Listing-portal rates, including the 99acres averages in our Jaipur flat price guide, are usually but not always quoted on super built-up area, so check the basis before comparing them with a carpet-area rate.
How Rajasthan’s RERA rules tie price to carpet area
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ web page on the Act, as archived in December 2021, listed this among its benefits: “The Disclosure of ‘Carpet Area’ for sale curbs the unfair trade practices.” Carpet area has one legal definition, so it can be compared across developers. Super built-up area cannot.
Many websites say section 13 of RERA requires pricing on carpet area. The Act does not say that. Section 13(2) says the agreement for sale must follow the form prescribed by state rules. In Rajasthan, Rule 9(1) prescribes Form-G, whose clause 1.2 sets out “The Total Price for the Apartment/ Plot based on the carpet area”, with a rate per sq ft. Form-G also describes your flat as “having carpet area of” a stated number of sq ft.
That does not mean you pay only for carpet area. Form-G’s price break-up can include the proportionate cost of common areas, preferential location charges, balcony and terrace cost, taxes and maintenance, with any garage or covered parking priced separately. Clause 1.8(iii) confirms the price covers common areas and amenities. The loading still exists, and the break-up should show it.
Clause 1.7 protects the final measurement. The developer confirms the carpet area after the occupancy certificate and recalculates the price at the same rate per sq ft. If the area shrinks, the developer must refund the excess you paid within 45 days, with interest from the date you paid it, at the Rule 17 rate: the State Bank of India’s highest marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) plus 2 percent. An increase of up to 3 percent can be charged at the next payment milestone. The form does not expressly say what happens beyond that, but clause 1.6 separately bars changes to the sanctioned plans and specifications of your flat without your prior written consent, apart from minor changes the Act allows.
What to ask for in writing before you pay
- The RERA carpet area of your unit in sq ft, stated in the agreement.
- The exclusive balcony or verandah and open terrace areas, each stated separately.
- The rate per sq ft of carpet area and the Total Price.
- The full price break-up: apartment, common areas, preferential location, balcony, terrace, each parking space, taxes and maintenance.
- For any super built-up figure, every component in it and the loading formula used.
- The floor plan and specifications, attached to the agreement.
- The RERA registration number, which you can check on rera.rajasthan.gov.in. Our guide to checking a RERA registration shows how.
- The clause 1.7 terms, including what happens if the area grows by more than 3 percent.
- A registered agreement before you pay more than 10 percent. Section 13(1) bars a developer from taking more than 10 percent of the cost as an advance or application fee without first signing and registering a written agreement for sale.
Looking at a Dhanuka home? Sunshine Aditya, 2 and 3 BHK on Rangoli Garden Road near Vaishali Nagar, is registered with Rajasthan RERA as RAJ/P/2017/331 and listed on the RERA portal as completed (the portal names the promoter as Dhanuka Realty Limited). Sunshine Symphony, 3 and 4 BHK on Jaisinghpura Road, Ajmer Road, is ready to move. Both are finished buildings, so you can ask to see a flat and measure the rooms before signing. Ask our team which units are available, and for the carpet area and price break-up of any unit you consider.
Stamp duty, surcharge and registration add about 8.98 percent of the value for a male or joint buyer (7.65 percent for a sole female buyer): see our stamp duty guide and our first-time buyer’s checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area?
Carpet area is the usable floor area inside the flat, including internal partition walls. Built-up area adds the external walls and, under Rajasthan’s Form-G, all balconies. Super built-up area adds a share of common areas such as lobbies, lifts and staircases.
Is the balcony included in carpet area under RERA?
No. Section 2(k) excludes an exclusive balcony, verandah or open terrace, but section 4(2)(h) requires those areas to be disclosed separately.
What is a normal loading percentage for flats?
Neither the RERA Act nor Rajasthan’s RERA Rules cap it, and we are not aware of a reliable published figure for Jaipur. Compare quotes on the same formula: 40 percent over carpet area is only about 28.6 percent over super built-up area.
Must flats in Rajasthan be priced on carpet area?
In effect, yes. Rajasthan’s prescribed agreement for sale, Form-G, fixes the Total Price on carpet area, though that price can include itemised shares of common areas, parking and taxes.
What if my flat’s final carpet area is smaller than agreed?
Under Form-G clause 1.7, the developer must refund the excess amount you paid within 45 days, with interest from the date you paid it, at the Rule 17 rate (SBI’s highest MCLR plus 2 percent). Check the wording in your own agreement.
How do I convert a super built-up rate into a carpet-area rate?
Multiply the rate by the super built-up area, then divide by the carpet area. ₹4,000 per sq ft on 1,400 sq ft super built-up with 1,000 sq ft carpet works out to ₹5,600.
Legal references reflect the RERA Act, 2016, the Rajasthan RERA Rules, 2017 and Form-G as amended in August 2022, as published on the Rajasthan RERA website in September 2026; check for later changes with your legal advisor before you sign. Rules of thumb are indicative.
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