Housing, Home Sales | Forget P-Rooms: These are the new terms homebuyers need to understand

A few years ago, a new standard was introduced to describe the size of homes: the primary room – known as the P-room.

The goal was to illustrate the actual usable size of homes.

But now there will be changes again: from the new year, Room P and Room S will disappear as descriptions, and instead the term “usable area” (BRA) will be introduced again with up to three subcategories.

– The purpose of the changes is to clarify what different land designations contain and reduce the possibility of misunderstanding, says Brid Dillingsby, senior advisor at DNB Eiendom Fag, in a press release.

These are new concepts

I'm well	Usable indoor area	The interior usable area (BRA-i) is the area within the perimeter walls. There are, for example, a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, an entrance hall, a bathroom, an internal storage room and a communication room between them. If a home consists of a utility unit with multiple detached dwelling units, the detached dwelling units must be classified as BRA-i. An example of this could be a detached house with a separate rental unit.
Good-e	External use area	An external use area (BRA-e) is for example an external storage room, a basement room with its own entrance, a guest room, an outbuilding or other rooms belonging to the residential unit but not directly connected to the internal area. Additional buildings could be, for example, a garage, a boathouse or an outhouse.
BRA-B	Glass balcony	Glass balcony (BRA-b) are glass balconies, balconies and balconies belonging to the residential unit.
Overall good	Total usable space	Total usable area above.

– According to the old measurement rules, for example, a storage room (S-room) could be defined by the appraiser as a P-room if it was furnished as a living room, even if this area was not registered for construction and was approved as something other than a storage room. Now this will instead be included in the BRA-i regardless of whether it is used as a living room or not. Dillingsby believes this would be a simplification that would lead to fewer misunderstandings.

According to DNB, in many homes the new BRA-i will be larger than the P-room, but it may also be smaller.

– This applies, for example, to a room in the basement that you have to leave the housing unit to use. There may also be a separate annex on the plot. These areas will now be classified as BRA-e, i.e. external use area.

Three completely new labels

Furthermore, three completely new designations appear:

– The first is the TBA (balcony, balcony, terrace) which describes the size of the terraces, balconies and balconies attached to the house. Unlike glazed balconies, these areas will not be included in BRA-i, but will be classified as TBA in the housing declaration, says Dillingsby.

– Another new designation is ALH (area with low ceiling height). These are areas that are measured in the same way as BRA, but where the ceiling height (ceiling height) is so low that the area cannot be declared as a usable area. It could, for example, be a loft apartment where parts of the ceiling height are very low. The size of these areas in the home is now better explained than before.

To be determined later	Terrace and balcony area	Terrace and Balcony Area (TBA) is the area of terraces, balconies, verandas and open balconies attached to the residential unit.
ALH	Area with low ceiling height	Unmeasurable floor spaces due to sloping roofs and low ceiling heights. Low ceiling height (ALH) space is measured in the same way as a BRA, but ceiling height requirements should be ignored and areas already included in a BRA should not be counted in the ALH.
GUA	Floor space	BRA and ALH can be added together and are collectively called floor area (GUA).