34+ essential real estate terms explained in simple language. Understand carpet area, RERA, stamp duty, EMI, and everything you need to know before buying your dream home in India.
Carpet area is the actual usable floor area within the walls of an apartment, excluding the thickness of inner walls.
Super built-up area (SBA) includes the carpet area, wall thickness, and a proportionate share of common areas like lobbies, staircases, and amenity spaces.
Built-up area includes the carpet area plus the area covered by walls, columns, and balconies of an individual apartment unit.
Loading factor is the percentage markup from carpet area to super built-up area, representing your share of common areas in a housing project.
Plinth area is the built-up area of a building measured at the plinth (floor) level, including the external walls, and is used for property tax and approval calculations.
RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act, 2016) is the landmark Indian law that regulates the real estate sector to protect home buyers and ensure transparency.
An Occupancy Certificate is a legal document issued by the local municipal authority certifying that a building is fit for habitation and complies with approved plans.
A Completion Certificate confirms that a building has been constructed in compliance with the sanctioned building plan and local building regulations.
Possession is the formal handover of a completed property unit from the developer to the buyer, after which the buyer can legally occupy the property.
Stamp duty is a state government tax paid during property registration, calculated as a percentage of the property value or market value, whichever is higher.
EMI is the fixed monthly payment a borrower makes to repay a home loan, comprising both principal repayment and interest charges.
A home loan is a secured loan provided by banks and financial institutions to purchase, construct, or renovate a residential property, using the property itself as collateral.
Circle rate (also called guidance value or ready reckoner rate) is the minimum property value set by the government for the purpose of calculating stamp duty and registration charges.
Pre-EMI is the interest-only payment made on a home loan during the construction phase of an under-construction property, before full EMI payments begin.
An escrow account in real estate is a dedicated bank account where 70% of buyer payments must be deposited, as mandated by RERA, to be used exclusively for project construction.
Maintenance charges are the recurring monthly fees paid by apartment owners to cover the upkeep of common areas, amenities, staff salaries, and shared utilities in a housing project.
Registration charges are the fees paid to the government at the sub-registrar office for legally recording a property transaction in government records.
A floating interest rate (variable rate) on a home loan fluctuates with market conditions, typically benchmarked to the RBI repo rate or the bank's MCLR/EBLR.
CIBIL score is a three-digit credit score (300-900) that indicates your creditworthiness, used by banks to evaluate home loan eligibility and interest rates.
A gated community is a residential complex with controlled access, perimeter fencing or walls, security systems, and shared amenities managed by a residents association.
BHK stands for Bedroom, Hall, Kitchen — a standard notation in Indian real estate to describe the configuration of a residential unit.
Amenities are shared facilities and features provided within a residential project, such as swimming pool, gym, clubhouse, parks, and recreational areas.
An under-construction property is a real estate project that is currently being built and has not yet received an Occupancy Certificate for completion.
A ready-to-move property is a completed project that has received its Occupancy Certificate and is available for immediate occupation after purchase.
A clubhouse is a dedicated community building within a residential project that houses recreational and social facilities like party halls, indoor games, gym, and gathering spaces.
FSI (Floor Space Index) or FAR (Floor Area Ratio) is the ratio of total built-up area of a building to the total plot area, determining how much construction is permitted on a given land parcel.
A floor plan is a scaled architectural drawing showing the layout of rooms, dimensions, and spatial arrangement of an apartment or house as viewed from above.
Vastu Shastra is the ancient Indian science of architecture and spatial arrangement that prescribes guidelines for building design, room placement, and directional orientation.
Open space ratio is the percentage of total project land that is left as open, green, or recreational space after accounting for built-up structures and roads.
Unit density is the number of residential units per acre of land in a housing project, indicating how crowded or spacious the project will be.
A sale deed is the legal document that transfers ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer, executed and registered at the sub-registrar office.
An Encumbrance Certificate is a document from the sub-registrar office showing all registered transactions on a property, confirming whether it is free from legal or financial liabilities.
An agreement of sale is a legal contract between buyer and seller outlining the terms, conditions, and timeline for completing a property sale transaction.
A title deed is the legal document that establishes ownership of a property and provides the chain of ownership from the original owner to the current owner.