What is the total living area of the apartment. What is included in the total living area of the apartment - controversial points

Tell me, please, what area of the apartment - total or residential - is taken to determine the payment for heating? In addition, why do we need three (I heard that there is also a usable area) different accounting for the area of the same apartment? Alexander, Yaroslavl.

The question is answered by a consultant - a lawyer of the Department of Housing and Communal Services and Infrastructure of the Yaroslavl Region Galina Belova: - Dear Alexander, the question you asked is relevant and, for sure, is of interest to everyone who pays utilities. The reason for it lies in the presence in the regulatory legal acts and in the legal literature, concepts that are not equivalent in content " total area living quarters” and “living area” applicable to residential premises. First of all, we note that Article 16 of the Housing Code Russian Federation(hereinafter referred to as the Housing Code of the Russian Federation) the apartment is classified as residential premises, which also include a residential building, part of a residential building, part of an apartment and a room.

These concepts have several meanings depending on the purposes for which they are applied. Let's consider them.

The basic concept of "total living area" is contained in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. It is used in relations regulated by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, those related to the provision of residential premises under an agreement social recruitment- for determining accounting rate the area of the dwelling, the amount of payment for the use of the dwelling, the payment for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling, etc. According to Part 5 of Article 15 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, “the total area of a dwelling consists of the sum of the areas of all parts of such a premises, including the area of auxiliary premises intended to meet citizens' domestic and other needs related to their living in a residential premises, with the exception of balconies, loggias, verandas and terraces. In the same sense, but in more detail, the concept under consideration is given in the resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation of April 8, 2003 No. 42 “On approval of statistical tools for conducting the main stage of the National Survey of Household Welfare and participation in social programs(NOBUS)" (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution). The Decree establishes that the total (useful) area of a dwelling is defined as the sum of the areas of all living rooms and utility rooms (kitchens, corridors, bathrooms, pantries, built-in wardrobes, etc.) of apartments and houses, including the area of heated and suitable for living in throughout the year, premises attached to the house (terraces, verandas, etc.). The total (usable) area does not include the area of staircases, vestibules, vestibules, open terraces, balconies, etc. Living space, according to the Decree, is the area of living rooms in residential premises intended and used for living (excluding the area of built-in wardrobes).

This shows that the concept of "living area" in terms of content is already the concept of "total area of \u200b\u200bdwelling premises", since it includes the area of \u200b\u200bliving rooms - bedrooms, living rooms, which is included integral part to the total living area. And the concept of “usable area” of a dwelling is used for the purposes of the Decree (household welfare survey) in a meaning equivalent to the concept of “total area of a dwelling”.

In a slightly different meaning, the concept of "total area of \u200b\u200bdwelling premises" is used for the purposes of construction, accounting and technical inventory housing stock. So, on the basis of the Instruction on accounting for the housing stock in the Russian Federation, approved by order of the Ministry of Land Construction of Russia dated 04.08.1998 No. 37 (hereinafter referred to as the Instruction), the total area of an apartment is determined as the sum of the areas of its premises, built-in wardrobes, as well as the areas of loggias, balconies, verandas, terraces and cold storerooms, calculated with decreasing coefficients.

The living area according to the Instruction is defined as the sum of the areas of living rooms. In a number of regulatory legal acts, residential premises are called residential premises (Federal Law of November 24, 1995 No. 181-FZ “On social protection disabled people in the Russian Federation”, etc.)

Now that we have clarified the content of the concepts under consideration, it remains to determine which of the areas of the dwelling is used when determining the size of the heating payment.

The procedure for calculating and making payments for utilities (established by the Rules for the provision utilities citizens approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 23, 2006 No. 307) provides for the determination of the amount of payment for heating, taking into account the total area of \u200b\u200bthe dwelling. The methodology for planning, accounting and calculating the cost of housing and communal services, approved by the Decree of the Gosstroy of the Russian Federation of February 23, 1999 No. 9, explains that “to determine the payment for heating per 1 square meter housing apartment area, individual home is defined as the total area of living rooms and utility rooms, excluding loggias, balconies, verandas, terraces and cold storerooms, vestibules.

Thus, to determine the amount of payment for heating, the total, and not the living, area of the apartment is used in the value specified in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and the Decree, i.e. the area of heated residential and utility rooms is taken into account, and the area of unheated balconies, cold storerooms, etc., is not taken into account.

When we are talking about an apartment, we are used to operating with two concepts: “total area” and “living area”. It would seem that there should be no problems with the application of these definitions: based on simple logic, the total area is the area of \u200b\u200ball the premises of the apartment, and the living area is only those that are intended for living, that is, living rooms.

It turns out that not everything is so simple. And these definitions are vague, and they are used in different cases in different ways. In addition, there is no document that would dot the i in this matter. This leads to confusion, which often leads the disputing parties to court.

We do not claim to be an exhaustive analysis of all options use of these definitions. But we will describe the most common ones.

Code and instruction

First of all, let us mention the inconsistency and incompleteness of the legislation on this matter. Thus, the concept of "total area" is interpreted in several ways. regulations, and the essence of these definitions does not coincide. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation (Article 15, paragraph 5) states: “The total area of a dwelling consists of the sum of the area of all parts of such premises, including the area of auxiliary premises intended to meet citizens' domestic and other needs related to their living in a dwelling, with the exception of balconies, loggias, verandas and terraces. Pro living space By the way, the code does not know anything at all.

Text: Nadezhda Rogozhkina Photo: Alexey Alexandronok

Today we will try to understand what is included in the living area of the apartment. This question begins to interest citizens when they are going to carry out a real estate transaction. Namely, the apartment. It is always important to know and understand how much space will be allocated "for living". As practice shows, the higher this figure, the higher the cost of housing. It is quite normal and should not be surprising. True, any apartment has not only residential, but also other types of areas. They also play their part. All details regarding the size of housing must be understood. Only then will you be able to assess in essence how the apartment suits your requirements.

Three components

What is included in the living area of the apartment? Before you begin to understand this issue, you need to get acquainted with all the "dimensions" of the dwelling. It has already been said that there are several. On the this moment 3 components can be distinguished:

living space;
area of the apartment;

Without this knowledge, it is impossible to say exactly which apartment you are agreeing to. Therefore, real estate sellers are always asked for this information. If you know what is included in each type of housing area, you can not be afraid of fraud in real estate transactions.

General

So, first you need to get acquainted with such a concept as the total area of \u200b\u200bhousing. It usually includes all residential and non-residential premises that are only relevant to the proposed dwelling.

Please note that here in without fail loggias and balconies are not included. In general, very often sellers try to deceive their customers by indicating these components as living quarters. It is not right. According to the Housing Code, balconies and loggias generally do not belong to the area of the apartment. Therefore, they should, as it were, "stand apart" and be indicated in ads just for reference.

Residential

What is included in the living area of the apartment? First you have to find out what this term generally means. It is not difficult to guess that the living area is the space in which people will live. In other words, premises suitable for habitation.

Nothing seems to be difficult to understand. Only the population often cannot answer exactly what is included in a given area. Indeed, in apartments there are a different number of rooms, and utility rooms, and even a bathroom has a place. Is all this included in our today's main component? Not at all. But in order to fully understand what is included in each of the three existing areas, it is necessary to consider one more concept.

Everything and completely

Which one? There is such a term as "flat area". Usually it means the entire apartment. All residential and non-residential premises, as well as other components.

It is in the area of the apartment that the balcony is included. And the loggia too. Usually such a space is also called useful. A variety of mezzanines are also included in the concept of usable area. In Russia, this interpretation is used. But in other countries under usable area only the operated premises in housing are understood. What a mess!

Specific Ingredients

What is included in the living area of the apartment? It has already been said that these are habitable premises. They are included here. Speaking plain language, this term refers to rooms.

It turns out that the more of them, the higher this indicator will be. Please note that the bathroom is not included in the living area. Why? It is not habitable. Therefore, it cannot be considered residential. This is a place you can't do without, but no one will live in it.

Is the kitchen included in the living area of the apartment? No. It is not right. And this feature must also be taken into account. After all, sellers may try to increase the living space at the expense of the kitchen, as well as balconies and a bathroom.

So what is included in the "residential part" of the apartment? Rooms. The most ordinary rooms in which you will live. The more of them, the higher this indicator. Nothing else applies here. Not a single component of the apartment is included in the living area.

Counting Rules

It's good that they refer to our main indicator that affects the value of real estate, figured it out. Now it would be nice to understand how the living space is considered. This moment is extremely important. After all, the cost of housing will directly depend on it.

Everything is easy and simple. We have already found out that a component of this space is a living room. Then everything is simple. To understand what area is allocated for living, you must first calculate the footage of each room, and then add the resulting values together. And you will get the desired indicator. How is the area of a room calculated? Here the most common mathematical formulas for calculating the area of a square and a rectangle come to the rescue. All measurements must be taken on the inside of the plinth.

Components of the total area

What else is worth paying attention to? For example, which includes the total area of \u200b\u200bthe dwelling. This important indicator also plays a role for many. It can be used to determine what space is allocated in general for your needs, and not just for living. This includes:

toilet (with a separate bathroom);
kitchen;
hallway;
wardrobe;
bedrooms;
living rooms;
other rooms and premises in the dwelling.

Pay attention to what has already been said earlier - balconies and loggias cannot be attributed to the total area. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation indicates that these premises do not belong to an apartment at all. Learn it. Often, buyers are not aware of this rule at all, which entails negative consequences.

Another point - a variety of niches and stairs are included in the "common space" of the apartment, but with certain conditions. What exactly? In addition to the premises, it is also worth attributing to this indicator:

niches from 2 meters in height;
intra-apartment stairs (space under them);
arches over 200 centimeters in height;
heating furnaces;
protruding elements.

Instead of a conclusion

It's so easy and simple, if you figure it out. Now it is clear what is included in the living area of the apartment and not only. From now on, it will be very problematic to deceive you.

To find out the above indicators in specific measurements for a particular apartment, you need to take an extract from the BTI. There will be drawn a plan of the apartment with detailed footage. Accordingly, the total area, both residential and non-residential, is indicated here. It is this document that affects the cost of housing.

In general, there are a lot of controversial points in our today's issue. And, as a rule, it is an extract from the BTI that can solve all problems. This document serves as the basis for calculating the cost of the apartment. If you are considering a real estate transaction, always ask for a statement from the seller. Only in this way can you protect yourself from unnecessary mistakes.

Not wanting to buy an apartment on secondary market, and having set themselves the goal of buying a home in a new building, many clients have difficulty in the offices of construction companies when trying to read the drawings with the layout.

In particular, why are certain coefficients used.

Let's go through the entire chain to find out where the numbers that are incomprehensible to perception come from, and whether there is a malicious intent of the developer trying to get more money from the sale of square meters of housing than is actually purchased by the buyer.

Legislative side of the issue

To figure out what exactly this or that amount is taken by sellers residential meters, armed with two normative documents:

Housing Code of the Russian Federation dated March 1, 2005;
SNiP 31-01-2003 "Residential multi-apartment buildings".

Warning: in connection with the introduction of the Federal Law of Russia dated December 30, 2009 No. 384-FZ, a number of provisions that were in force before that became invalid.

It should be understood that in their work, construction companies and the Bureau of Technical Inventory, which measure commissioned facilities, use many internal documents and instructions.

However, the Housing Code of the Russian Federation is federal law, while the instructions are among the by-laws, and in the case of controversial, and sometimes contradictory points, the JK has more legal force.

So what do the above legislative acts and regulatory documents:

From article 15 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, in particular paragraph 5, we learn that the total area of \u200b\u200bthe residential premises that the buyer of housing in a new building receives into possession is the sum of the area of \u200b\u200ball parts of such premises, together with auxiliary premises, excluding balconies, loggias, terraces and verandas.
From SNiP 31-01-2003 we learn that the total area of the apartment, which is the property of the tenants after the house is put into operation, is calculated according to the lines of the outer dimensions (outer sides of the walls) of the apartment.

In addition, a construction organization can also use the old SNiP 2.08.01-89 * for internal use, which required the determination of the total area of a residential building put into operation as the sum of the total areas of apartments in the entire house.

controversial points

As seen from the above, controversial points arose due to changes in legislation.

But in practice, everything is regulated by by-laws and internal instructions that are not available to ordinary citizens for review:

Difference in indications of the total area of the object, based on project data construction organization and according to the BTI, which measures each apartment and the house as a whole, it is displayed for reference.
This figure must also be present in the registration certificate for the apartment;
Theoretically, the total area of balconies, terraces, verandas and loggias, which BTI specialists indicate in the documentation for reference, together with the total area of apartments should correspond to the design values.
Data reconciliation is also the competence of the two organizations.

What happens in practice

Subject to the requirements determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation, when determining the total living footage of an apartment, the area of \u200b\u200bthe loggia is not included. But this does not mean that the developer simply "gives" building construction to their shareholders.

It is legally stipulated that when drawing up an agreement equity participation, when calculating the total cost for balconies and loggias, reduction factors must be applied.

Accordingly, if the area of loggias, balconies and terraces is indicated in the annex to the equity participation agreement on the housing plan, then coefficients should be applied to these values in calculating the cost.

In particular:

For loggias - a coefficient of 0.5;
For terraces and balconies - 0.3;
For verandas and cold storerooms -1.0.

Often, in a contract shared construction are indicated schematically, however, in the application, the developer is obliged to indicate its total area. For example, if the area of the loggia, measured on the outer sides, is 4 square meters. meters, then buyers can be required to pay for it based on the calculation: 4.0x0.5 \u003d 2.0 sq.m.

Buyer Rights

In practice, when it comes to calculating the total cost of selling housing in a new building, not all construction companies inform participants in shared construction (buyers) of certain standards.

In the event that in the appendix to the equity participation agreement (and simply - the sale and purchase), the area of \u200b\u200bthe loggias is calculated:

with a coefficient of 0.3;
or even one to one (1/1);

then there is a violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation regarding the infringement of the rights of buyers by deliberate misleading.

Often, unscrupulous developers hide behind different interpretations legislative framework, introducing into the deception of equity holders. For example, that the BTI is guided by its regulatory documents, that the living space does not include a number of premises, but their footage is paid, etc.

If you became a victim of such a situation, and paid more under the equity agreement than subsequently turned out to be the footage of housing according to the technical passport received from the BTI, then you should apply to the courts to protect your interests.

The law in such situations is always on the side of consumers, because:

Area measurements are carried out without his participation;
A conscientious purchaser is not obliged to pay for other people's mistakes related to the correctness of the measurements;
Responsibility for incorrect calculation rests with the performers.

Litigation

Shareholders (buyers), receiving documents for purchased housing from the BTI after putting the house into operation, pay attention to the difference in figures, which causes them questions.

For most buyers, the price of overpaid meters is significant to forgive, however, cases in which the developer voluntarily returned the money are extremely rare.

The only correct (legal) way to return is to go to court. Acting as a defendant, developers often refer to the outdated SNiP 2.08.01.-89 *, according to which.

The court takes into account these circumstances, since the parties came to them voluntarily in the course of the execution of the contract.

However, the court also takes into account that the general will of the parties under the shared construction agreement:

It was aimed at the construction and transfer of ownership of the apartment to the shareholder of the agreed area;
In fact, the developer transferred to the disposal of the shareholder an area, the size of which turned out to be less than that stipulated by the contract;
The shareholder did not have the opportunity to influence the measurements, as well as the authority, respectively, should not suffer from possible errors;
The shareholder has every reason to make claims under the equity participation agreement for the recovery of overpaid Money the developer in connection with his failure to fulfill his contractual obligations.

Real life example

Let's look at a similar situation specific example. When signing a share agreement with construction company, the shareholder expected to receive a two-room apartment with a total area of 77 square meters, including.

However, the agreement:

Did not contain references to applied coefficients;
Didn't have a copy of the floor plan.

After commissioning and receiving a registration certificate from the BTI, the shareholder discovered that the resulting apartment has an area of 72.5 sq.m:

68 sq.m - the area of the rooms;
4.5 sq.m - the area of \u200b\u200bthe loggia, taking into account a coefficient of 0.5;
4.5 sq.m - the difference between the area actually received and the area specified in the contract.

The developer refused to return the excess funds received under the contract, citing a different interpretation of the rules and laws between him and the regional BTI. In particular, his arguments about the actual area of the loggia in the amount of 9.0 square meters. m equity holders, this explanation did not suit, and they went to court to protect their interests.

As a result of the consideration of the case, the court satisfied the claims of the plaintiffs. In addition, the court calculated the average cost of 1 square meter of a particular contract, and ordered the defendant to return the over-received funds for 4.5 square meters.

Conclusions: as you can see, changes in legislation are still ambiguously interpreted in the primary housing market in terms of assessing balconies and loggias. But, arbitrage practice indicates that if the figures under the contract and technical passport apartments diverge, then each equity holder has the right to claim the return of the overpaid amount.

The average Russian is unlikely to know which square meters belong to the total area of the apartment, and which - to the residential area. Where, for example, are bathrooms and kitchens included? And what about balconies, loggias and stairs in a two-level apartment? At first glance, these legal subtleties seem not very necessary in everyday life. However, many items of utility costs and the market value of housing directly depend on the figures indicated in the documents for an apartment. To begin with, let's try to formulate how the current legislation determines the total and living area of an apartment.

The average Russian is unlikely to know which square meters belong to the total area of the apartment, and which - to the residential area. Where, for example, are bathrooms and kitchens included? And what about balconies, loggias and stairs in a two-level apartment? At first glance, these legal subtleties seem not very necessary in everyday life. However, many items of utility costs and directly depend on the numbers indicated in the documents for the apartment.

Understanding terminology

To begin with, let's try to formulate how the current legislation determines the total and living area of an apartment. According to paragraph 5 of Art. 15 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the total area of a dwelling is the sum of the area of \u200b\u200ball parts of such a room. This cubic capacity also includes the area of premises for auxiliary use, intended to meet citizens' domestic and other needs. Balconies, verandas, terraces and loggias are not included here. The concept of living space in Housing Code as such is not distinguished.

However, when determining the areas of residential buildings and apartments, the Instruction on accounting for the housing stock in the Russian Federation is also applied (approved by order of the Ministry of Land Construction of the Russian Federation dated 04.08.1998 No. 37). It gives the following definition. The total area of an apartment is formed by the sum of the areas of its premises, built-in wardrobes, as well as the areas of loggias, balconies, verandas, terraces and cold storerooms, which are calculated with the following reduction factors:

loggias - 0.5;
balconies and terraces - 0.3;
verandas and cold storerooms - 1.0.

Under the living area, the above instruction means the sum of the areas of all the living rooms of the apartment. True, this document also contains the concept of “flat area”, which, in fact, coincides with the definition of the total area given in the LCD.

How is the area in a new building calculated?

It is not surprising that with such an abundance of terms and their interpretations, the emergence of controversial situations. Most often this happens under a shared construction agreement, at the conclusion of which the developer provides a description of the object of shared participation (apartment), based on the data project documentation on house. The design and construction of multi-apartment residential buildings under construction are carried out on the basis of the norms of SNiP 31-01-2003, in which it is proposed to calculate the area in accordance with the Instructions for accounting for the housing stock. It is also used when measuring an apartment for cadastral registration, i.e. the total area is calculated using reduction factors.

But there is one caveat: what figure to take as a basis for calculating the cost is prescribed in the equity agreement. It depends on the developer's marketing policy: you can take a living space, and then a square meter will cost more. And you can reduce the cost of a "square" in order to attract buyers, taking the total area as a basis. However, this cheapness will turn out to be imaginary, because. it is compensated by a larger footage. So, you need to carefully study the DDU in order to understand what area will be taken into account when determining the cost of an apartment, otherwise it is unlikely that the developer will be wrong to prove it. It is possible to make a claim only if the actual area of the apartment differs from that indicated in the document, then the interest holder has the right to demand a refund for unfinished meters.

It is also worth paying attention to the difference between the loggia and the balcony. At first glance, these concepts are almost identical, but when calculating the total area, different coefficients are used for them (0.5 for a loggia and 0.3 for a balcony). The differences are as follows. The loggia has side walls, a ceiling and is, as it were, recessed into the building, and the balcony protrudes beyond the perimeter of the house.

What affects the footage of the apartment

Apart from market value real estate, the cubic capacity of the apartment also affects the size of utility bills.

So, to determine the payment for heating in accordance with the Rules for the provision of public services to citizens, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation (dated May 23, 2006 No. 307), the total area of \u200b\u200bthe dwelling is taken into account, with the exception of unheated premises (cold loggias, balconies, storerooms, etc. .). In the absence of meters, the same system applies when charging for hot and cold water supply.

A recent innovation in the housing and communal services sector - common house needs - is also indirectly related to the number of meters of the total area owned by each tenant. Each homeowner pays for ODN in proportion to the footage of his property. So the existing legal wisdom can cause an increase in utility costs. And since the final amount is often very substantial, apartment owners have the right to know for what area they will have to pay.

Olga Fedosova, GdeEtoDom.RU correspondent

What is the total living area of ​​the apartment. What is included in the total living area of ​​​​the apartment - controversial points