The Noida authority has issued an order mandating that the registry of flats will now be on the ‘carpet’ area, much to the relief of thousands of homebuyers who have long been demanding that the registry of a flat should not be determined by the ‘super area’--a factor that gives the scope to a developer to escalate the cost of an apartment.

The new order has paved the way for apartment owners to pay less to a developer and also a lesser registration fee for a flat to the stamp department.

Since 2016, when the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) Act came into being, homebuyers intensified the demand for registry or sale of a flat on carpet area. Even before the Rera Act, homebuyers, citing the provisions of UP Apartment Act, used to demand that a flat’s rate be determined by the carpet area but the developers kept objecting to the demand.

According to the provisions of the UP Rera that came into effect on May 1, 2016, the carpet area means the net usable floor area, excluding the area covered by external walls, service shafts, balconies, verandahs and open terraces. Buyers said the ‘super area’ refers to the common area that developers add to the actual size of the flat, thereby increasing the size of the unit to make more profit.

“According to RERA, the developer should sell a unit on the basis of carpet area and not on the super area. The developer should make an agreement with a buyer based on the carpet area; if he does the registry of a flat on the super area, it is against the law. Be it agreement, sale or registry, if it is not determined by the carpet area, then it is illegal. Since Noida authority is a party in the sub-lease deed process, its circular (on registration of flats) will benefit customers. It was much needed to put an end to all confusions,” said Rajive Kumar, chairman of UPRera.

“After a long battle, the Noida authority has finally issued an official order, sending a copy of the same to UP RERA, the stamp department and other agencies in this regard. We are delighted with this order as it will benefit scores of homebuyers, who are looking to buy an apartment or get a flat’s registry done. The move will bring down the overall cost for each flat by upto 28% ,” said Chakresh Jain, a homebuyer, who has been fighting for this demand for the last six years.

Homebuyers had first raised this issue of developers charging more in the name of ‘super area’ of a flat before officials of the UP stamp and registration department in Noida on December 20, 2010. Subsequently, the administration had written to the Noida authority asking it to stop the sale of flats on ‘super area’ as it affects buyers.

“From the model guidelines issued in 2018 by the UP Rera, it is clear that the sale/purchase or sub-lease deed should be executed on carpet area. In future, sale/purchase or sub-lease deed should be executed only on carpet area basis,” said Neha Sharma, additional CEO of the Noida authority.

There are at least one lakh apartments, whose registry has to be executed in Gautam Budh Nagar.

Developers also welcomed the move of the Noida authority.

“The move will benefit homebuyers, who otherwise had to pay more in stamp duty at the time of registry. If the carpet area of a flat reduces, it will automatically bring down the cost of the flat, which in turn will benefit homebuyers,” said Subodh Goyal, secretary of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), a builders group.

S S Pal, assistant inspector general of UP stamp and registration department in Noida, said, “We are ready to implement this order if the Noida authority has agreed on doing the registration of a flat based on the carpet area. Our duty is to execute registry on the basis of details provided by the Noida authority, buyer and the developer.”