This is the size of the house – the BRA replaces the P rooms to calculate the housing area from 2024

The area of ​​the home is important to know the size and be able to calculate if the price is right.
From 1 January 2024, new area terms will be used in housing advertisements when selling used homes.

Now the area of ​​the house must be declared as a BRA usable area – not as a P and S room as previously. Here we explain how to calculate the different regions.

Two important clarifications first:

Will the areas in the house be different now?

No, you will not lose or gain space, but compared to any previous space measurements there may be a difference due to the new rules.

Will this affect the market price of the property?

No, the market price is affected by many factors. Moreover, the area of ​​the house has not changed despite the change in the rules.

How to Calculate Area: This floor plan is of an apartment, and we see that everything inside the apartment (green) is fine – the interior area. In addition, there are two gazebos in the attic and in the basement, BRA-e, and a glass balcony, BRA-b. The total usable area of ​​the house is BRA-i + BRA-e + BRA-b.

Note that the storage room inside the apartment is BRA-i because it is inside the apartment itself. This is different from before, when the storage room and technical room were S rooms.

In the apartment: You should take care of this through the living space:

• The area inside the apartment is BRA-i
• Shops that you have access to, but are located outside the apartment, will be measured as BRA-e (external usable area) and counted towards the total BRA (useful area).
• For apartments with an attached glazed balcony, this will be BRA-b (glazed balcony) and is part of the BRA (use area).
• Columns, chimneys, interior columns and the like are part of a home's BRA (usable area) and should be measured even if they don't have a floor or doorway. If columns are not visible (for example, separated from an adjacent or common area), they should be measured if drawings showing the columns are provided.

This is how the apartment area can be mentioned in the condition report:

Note: This is the layout of the apartment in the plan above, compare the plan to see where the different parts are!

In detached houses, semi-detached houses and terraced houses: this is how you see the living area!

In a detached house, semi-detached house or terrace house, the area will be set up in almost the same way as in apartments. Only that you often have to combine areas of several floors. Here you see an example of the layout of a detached house:

In this house, we see that the basement has not been expanded, because it is designated as a BRA-e external use area.

Space is measured only when it is high enough under the ceiling!

Above you can see that there is a space where the ceiling height is not high enough, and the space is so-called “unmeasurable”.

For a space to be worth measuring, its ceiling must be at least 1.90 meters high and at least 60 cm wide.

Parts with sloping roofs are measured up to 60 cm above a height of 1.90 metres, so measuring them in loft apartments or in houses with sloping roofs is more difficult. But it can also be in basements with low ceilings.

The difference is in actual usage and measurement rules

Note that the above rules only apply to how space is measured.

The fact that they have been measured says nothing about whether the rooms meet the building regulations requirements for permanent residence or what they can be legally used for.

But this is the information you will find out in the sales report when you buy a home. It's worth keeping an eye on. In some cases, we know that kiosks have been converted into living spaces without notification of the change of use. The same applies to the lower floors, which were converted into a basement living room without approval.

So it's important to have a critical eye, especially when purchasing homes whose basement or attic has been furnished after the year of construction.

The old area concepts – Room P and Room S may still make sense

As of January 1, 2024, building inspectors must follow new rules for measuring space. Real estate agents must use the new territory terms when entering a sales assignment after January 1, 2024.

This means that homes sold after the new year could have outdated designations of areas (P room, S room) as both the sales committee and builder measured the home before the new year.

This means that in 2024, you may meet the area's old concepts of P room and S room when you are looking for a home.

Double terminology: From the December 2023 Housing Status Report, where new and old area terms are used.

Until January 1, 2024, the terms P-room and S-room are used when determining the size of dwellings. These concepts are slightly different from the new usable area (BRA) concepts.

These conditions may be important in appeals for homes purchased before January 1, 2024, and you will be able to find the conditions in homes that were purchased after January 1, but were put on the market before the new year.

Here is a brief summary of the rules for Room P and Room S:

Basic room: Also called P-rooms, they are parts of the utility area used for living. Here we are talking, for example, about living spaces such as living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, laundry room and hall/wind shelter. This is used to calculate the estimated value of the home.

Secondary room: Also called S rooms, these are all rooms that are not used for living. Unfurnished rooms such as basements, sheds/storage rooms, garages, attics, walk-in closets and technical rooms are classified as S rooms.