Flat cost sheet: base price, floor rise, parking and charges

1.7.1 What does a flat cost sheet show?

A flat cost sheet is the builder’s written price break-up for one unit in a project. It starts with the base price, which is usually a rate per square foot multiplied by an area. Then it adds premiums such as floor rise or preferential location charges. It also adds parking, club or amenity charges, and connection charges for electricity and water. After these come GST, deposits such as a maintenance advance or a corpus fund, and the cost of stamp duty and registration. No law sets the line names, so two builders can use different labels for the same thing. The cost sheet is a quotation. Section 13(2) of the RERA Act says the agreement for sale must state the dates and manner of payments. So the agreement is the document that binds you. Before you pay, check that every amount on the cost sheet appears in the agreement, and that the agreement adds no new charge.

Line on the cost sheet	What it usually means	What to ask
Base price	Rate per square foot multiplied by an area	Which area: carpet area or super built-up area?
Floor rise or PLC	Premium for a higher floor, corner, view or facing	The formula for your unit, and whether it is in the agreement value
Car parking	Price for a covered or open parking space	Covered or open, which space, and is it in the agreement?
Club or amenity charge	Payment for the clubhouse and facilities	Which facilities, and when they will be complete
Electricity, water, sewer connection	Recovery of utility connection costs	Actual cost or a fixed amount, and is a receipt given?
GST	Tax on construction service	Which rate, and on which lines it applies
Maintenance advance, corpus	Money for running the building after handover	Who holds it, for how many months, and how it transfers to the association
Stamp duty and registration	Government charges on the agreement and the sale deed	Paid by you directly, or collected by the builder?

1.7.2 How do you check the base price and the area?

The base price is only useful if you know which area it multiplies. Some cost sheets quote a rate per square foot of super built-up area, which includes a share of common areas. Sachi did not check this market practice against a published source. The RERA Act uses carpet area. Section 2(k) defines carpet area as the net usable floor area of the apartment. It excludes the external walls, service shafts, the exclusive balcony or verandah and the exclusive open terrace, but it includes internal partition walls. Section 4(2)(h) makes the builder declare the carpet area of each apartment type in the registration application. Section 34(b) makes the Authority publish the information from the registration application on its website, so check the K-RERA page for the project. Divide the total payable by your carpet area to get a comparable cost per square foot of usable area. If the cost sheet does not show the carpet area, ask for it in writing before you compare offers.

Also check the unit identity. The tower, floor, unit number and facing on the cost sheet must match the booking form and the agreement. If a quote is valid only until a date, write that date down.

1.7.3 What are floor rise and preferential location charges?

Floor rise and preferential location charges (PLC) are premiums that a builder adds for the position of a unit. In common market practice (unverified, no published source), a floor rise charge adds an amount per square foot for each floor above a stated floor. A PLC can add an amount for a corner unit, a park or pool view, a road-facing unit or a particular facing. The RERA Act does not define these charges or set their amounts. So the label tells you nothing about the amount, and you must get the formula for your unit. Ask four questions. First, how is the charge calculated, per square foot or as a lump sum? Second, which area does it multiply? Third, is it part of the agreement value on which GST and stamp duty are calculated? Fourth, what happens to the charge if the builder changes the floor plan or moves you to another unit?

Section 14(2)(i) of the RERA Act protects your own flat. The builder needs your previous consent to change the sanctioned plans, specifications, fixtures or amenities of the flat you agreed to take. The proviso allows minor changes in two cases only. The first case is a change that you ask for. The second is a change needed for architectural and structural reasons. An authorised Architect or Engineer must recommend and verify it, after declaration and intimation to you. The Explanation says that minor changes exclude structural change, including an addition to the area or a change in height. So a change to the area of your flat needs your previous consent.

Compare two units in the same tower with and without the premium. The difference is the price of the floor or the view. Decide whether that premium is worth it to you.

1.7.4 How should you treat parking and amenity charges?

Parking and amenity charges are often shown as separate lines, so check what each one buys. The RERA Act separates two kinds of parking. Section 2(n)(iii) lists “open parking areas” among the common areas of the project. Section 2(y) defines a “garage” as a place with a roof and walls on three sides for parking a vehicle. The same clause says that a garage “does not include an unenclosed or uncovered parking space such as open parking areas”. Section 4(2)(i) makes the builder declare “the number and area of garage for sale in the project” when it registers. So read how your parking is described: as a garage, a covered space, a stilt or basement space, or an open space. Ask which space is yours, and how it is marked on a plan. Then check that the agreement names the space and its price. This chapter does not give a legal opinion on whether a particular parking charge is valid. If the amount is large, ask a lawyer.

For a club or amenity charge, get the list of facilities and their expected completion dates. Ask whether the charge is one-time, or whether a separate club membership fee starts at handover.

1.7.5 How is GST calculated on a new flat?

GST applies to a flat that you buy before it is complete. Schedule II, paragraph 5(b) of the CGST Act, 2017 treats construction of a building for sale as a supply of services. It excludes cases where “the entire consideration has been received after issuance of completion certificate”, where required, or after first occupation, whichever is earlier. Under Notification 11/2017 as amended up to 1 April 2019, a non-affordable residential apartment had an effective rate of 5 percent of the total. The builder got no input tax credit. For an affordable residential apartment, the rate was 1 percent. The CBIC FAQ of 7 May 2019 sets the metro test: carpet area up to 60 square metres, gross amount up to ₹45 lakh. It lists Bengaluru as a metropolitan city. The rates are low because the notification deems the land value to be one third of the total amount. Sachi did not check amendments made after April 2019, so ask the builder for the current rate in writing.

Ask the builder which lines GST applies to. Some cost sheets add GST on parking, club and other charges as well as on the base price. For an ongoing project that started before 1 April 2019, the 2019 FAQ says the builder could choose the older rates with input tax credit. Ask which option your project uses. Have a tax professional check the GST lines before you sign.

1.7.6 Which charges are deposits, and which are recurring?

Deposits and recurring charges are the lines that most often surprise buyers at handover. A cost sheet can list a maintenance advance for a number of months, a corpus or sinking fund, and deposits for electricity or water connections. Section 19(6) of the RERA Act covers what the buyer pays as the agreement says. It lists “the share of the registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges, ground rent, and other charges, if any”. Section 19(7) adds interest at the prescribed rate if you pay late. Under Section 11(4)(d), the builder must provide essential services at reasonable charges until the association of allottees takes over maintenance. Under Section 11(4)(g), the builder must pay the outgoings that it collected from buyers until it hands over physical possession. Examples are municipal taxes and utility charges. A deposit is not refundable only because of its name. For each deposit, ask who holds it, what it pays for, and when and how it moves to the association.

Mark each line in your copy of the cost sheet as one-time or recurring, and as refundable or non-refundable. Keep the receipts.

1.7.7 How much can a builder collect at booking?

Section 13(1) of the RERA Act limits the booking amount. A builder cannot accept more than 10 percent of the cost as an advance or an application fee. This limit applies until it signs and registers a written agreement for sale with you. So if the flat costs ₹1 crore, the builder can take up to ₹10 lakh before the registered agreement. The cost sheet usually shows a payment plan after the booking amount, for example instalments linked to construction stages. Section 13(2) says the agreement must state the dates and manner of payments and the possession date. It must also state the interest rates that each side pays on default. Compare the payment plan on the cost sheet with the schedule in the agreement. Stamp duty and registration fees are government charges on the agreement and on the sale deed. Sachi did not check the current stamp duty and registration rates for this chapter. Use the rate on igr.karnataka.gov.in or ask the Sub-Registrar before you budget.

1.7.8 How do you compare two cost sheets fairly?

To compare two cost sheets fairly, convert both to the same basis. Use the total payable for one named unit, divided by the carpet area of that unit. Builders can quote base rates on different areas and put different items inside or outside the base price. One builder can include parking and club charges in the base rate, and another can list them as extra lines. So a lower base rate does not prove a lower total. The carpet area is the common basis because Section 4(2)(h) of the RERA Act makes every builder declare it for each apartment type at registration. Add every line from the cost sheet, including GST, deposits and your estimate of stamp duty and registration. Keep the recurring charges, such as monthly maintenance, in a separate list, because they continue after handover. Then ask each builder to confirm in writing what the cost sheet leaves out. Use these steps for each offer.

1. Ask each builder for a cost sheet for one named unit, with its tower and unit number.
2. Write the carpet area from the K-RERA page next to each total.
3. Add every line: base price, premiums, parking, club, connections, GST, deposits and registration.
4. Divide the total by the carpet area to get the cost per square foot of usable area.
5. List the recurring charges and the deposits separately.
6. Ask each builder to confirm in writing what the cost sheet leaves out.

If a number is an estimate, mark it as an estimate. Sachi can line up the cost sheets of two Bangalore projects against their K-RERA carpet areas. If you want that comparison, Ask Sachi.