How to read a floor plan of a flat before you buy

6.3.1 How do you read a floor plan of a flat?

A floor plan is a drawing of the flat as seen from above, and you read it in a fixed order. First, check the label. It must name your tower, your floor range and your unit number or type. A brochure often shows one typical plan, and a flat on the other side of the core can be its mirror image. Second, find the north arrow and the units of measurement, feet and inches or metres. Third, read each room: its name, its dimensions, its doors and its windows. Fourth, find the balconies, the utility area and the shafts. Fifth, read the area table, if the plan has one. It should give the carpet area as defined in the RERA Act, 2016, and the balcony area separately. Ask the builder for a plan with dimensions, not a coloured picture with furniture. A picture can be useful, but it does not prove the sizes. Keep a dated copy of the plan you booked on.

Part of the plan	What to check
Label	Tower, floor range and unit number or unit type
North arrow	Which way each room and balcony faces
Units	Feet and inches, or metres
Room dimensions	Width by length for each room
Doors and windows	Position, width and which way each door opens
Area table	Carpet area under the RERA Act, and balcony area separately

6.3.2 How do you read the room dimensions?

Room dimensions are usually written as width by length, and you must know whether they are inside or outside the walls. Many plans give internal sizes, from the face of one wall to the face of the other. Check the note on the plan. If there is no note, ask the builder in writing. Read the units carefully. A plan in feet may write 10’6” for ten feet and six inches. A plan in metres may write 3.20 for three metres and twenty centimetres. One metre is about 3.28 feet, and one square metre is about 10.76 square feet. Multiply width by length to get a room’s area, then add the rooms to check the total. Your total can differ from the carpet area. The RERA Act counts the internal partition walls in carpet area, and wall-to-wall room sizes do not include walls. Look for columns, beams and ledges inside a room. A column in a corner can take space that a wardrobe needs.

Dimension on the plan	What it means	In the other unit
10’6” × 12’0”	10 feet 6 inches by 12 feet	About 3.20 m × 3.66 m
3.20 × 3.66	3.20 metres by 3.66 metres	About 10’6” × 12’0”
1 square metre	Area	About 10.76 square feet

6.3.3 How does the floor plan relate to carpet area under RERA?

The carpet area is the area that the RERA Act, 2016 makes the builder use, and the floor plan is where you check it. Section 2(k) defines carpet area as the net usable floor area of a flat. It excludes the area covered by the external walls, the areas under service shafts, the exclusive balcony or verandah, and the exclusive open terrace. It includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the flat. So a plan’s balcony is outside the carpet area, even if it is yours alone. Compare three numbers: the carpet area on the plan, the carpet area in your agreement for sale and the carpet area on the K-RERA page. They must match. If a sales sheet gives only a super built-up area, ask for the carpet area in writing. The carpet area chapter explains super built-up area and loading. The calculator on this page converts between the numbers that the builder gives you.

Part of the flat	In carpet area under Section 2(k)?
Rooms, kitchen, toilets and internal passages	Yes
Internal partition walls	Yes
External walls	No
Service shafts	No
Exclusive balcony or verandah	No
Exclusive open terrace	No

6.3.4 How do you check if furniture fits and the layout works?

Draw your main furniture to scale on the plan, and leave space for doors and walking. Measure your bed, sofa, dining table, wardrobes, refrigerator and washing machine. Draw each one on a printed plan at the same scale. Mark the arc of each door as it opens, because a door that hits a bed or a cupboard is a daily problem. Leave a walking path of a comfortable width between pieces. In the kitchen, check the length of the counter, the space for the refrigerator door and the place for the gas cylinder. Check where the washing machine goes, and whether it has a drain and a water point. Then walk through a normal day on the plan: entering with shopping, cooking, guests in the living room, children asleep. Long passages and odd corners can use area without adding a usable room. A passage is not always waste, because it can give privacy. Judge it against the price per square foot that you pay for it.

1. Measure your main furniture and appliances.
2. Draw each piece to scale on the plan.
3. Mark every door swing.
4. Check the walking paths between pieces.
5. Walk through a normal day on the plan.

6.3.5 How do you match the floor plan with K-RERA and check changes?

Match the plan the builder gives you with the sanctioned plan on the K-RERA page, because the sanctioned plan is the record. Section 4(2)(d) of the RERA Act, 2016 makes the builder file the sanctioned plan, the layout plan and the specifications with the registration application. Section 11(3)(a) says that at booking, the builder must make the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications available to you. On the K-RERA page, open the Uploaded Documents tab and find the approved plan. Page layouts differ, and some pages also have a Modification of Plan Details tab. Compare your unit’s shape, position and balconies with the filed plan. Section 14(2) protects you after booking. The builder cannot change the sanctioned plan or specifications of your flat without your previous consent. Minor changes are allowed only if you ask, or if an authorised architect or engineer recommends them, with notice to you. The Act says a structural change, including an addition to the area or a change in height, is never a minor change.

Check	Where	What to compare
Sanctioned plan	K-RERA Uploaded Documents	Unit shape, position and balconies
Plan changes	K-RERA Modification of Plan Details, on some pages	What changed, and when
Carpet area	K-RERA page and your agreement for sale	The same figure as on your plan
Change after booking	Section 14(2) of the RERA Act	Your previous consent is needed

Sachi reads the floor plans and K-RERA filings for Bangalore projects. To compare a unit’s plan with the project’s filed plan, Ask Sachi.