CHENNAI: While measuring apartments for sale, should the carpet area include the area of walls inside a flat? This is a question bugging the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) for long. RERA says there is a difference in the definition between the central government’s National Building Code (NBC) and the Tamil Nadu Combined Development Building Rules (TNCDBR).
While the NBC defines the carpet area as the net usable floor area of the apartment including internal walls, the TNCDBR excludes internal wall width while computing it. According to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, developers can only sell properties based on carpet area as defined by the NBC, which includes inner walls. To avoid confusion, TNRERA chief K Gnanadesikan has written to the state government to amend the TN rules in line with the NBC.
‘Move will not have impact on cost of flats’
Official sources told TNIE that the difference in definitions has led to a lot of confusion in the computing carpet area. “As per the Real Estate Act, 2016, flats should be sold only on a carpet area basis. At present, the authority insists on the carpet area statement for all the flats from the promoter and hosts it on the website. It is not possible for the authority to cross-check whether the carpet area furnished is as per the plan approved by planning authorities,” Gnanadesikan stated.
Srinivas Akinipatti, senior director (TN and Kerala), Knight Frank India, has welcomed the move by TNRERA stating that it will bring more clarity on the issue. This would not have a major impact on the cost of the flat, he said.
TNRERA has requested that the individual flat, block, or wing, be numbered and indicated in the approved plan, and provide the number of car parking required for individual flats to be indicated in the approved plan while issuing planning permission, said sources at the Directorate of Two and Country Planning (DTCP).
They said CEPT Research and Development Foundation, a consultant aiding CMDA in the process of ‘Reviewing and Strengthening of Tamil Nadu Combined Development Building Rules-2019’, has been directed to analyse the demand.
Similarly, TNRERA has also sought to view the approved plans by DTCP, no-objection certificates, consent letters issued by government agencies, and structural stability certificates furnished by promoters while obtaining planning permission. It has also sought for a link to TNRERA.