Property terms people confuse, side by side

Carpet area is the usable floor inside the flat's walls; built-up area adds the thickness of the walls and, depending on who measures, the balcony.

Built-up area is the flat itself including its walls; super built-up area adds your proportionate share of common areas such as the lobby, lifts, staircases and corridors.

Before RERA, "carpet area" was used loosely and usually meant the floor between the walls of each room, leaving out internal walls.

Saleable area is a market term that usually means super built-up area: the flat plus a share of common areas.

Plinth area is the covered built-up area of a floor measured at floor level, a term used in building measurement standards and in cost estimates for construction.

A completion certificate (CC) confirms that a building was constructed as per the approved plan and rules.

In Bengaluru, an A khata is issued to property that is fully compliant with planning and building approvals and on which property tax is paid.

A title deed is the document that transfers ownership to someone, usually a registered sale deed.

Registration records the sale deed at the sub-registrar's office and is what transfers ownership in law.

In Maharashtra, the 7/12 (satbara) extract is the record for one survey or gat number: its holders, area, rights, liabilities and crops.

In Tamil Nadu, a patta is the revenue record naming the person in whose name land is held.

An agreement to sell is a promise to transfer the property later on agreed terms; it does not by itself make you the owner.

A conveyance deed is any deed that transfers title in property from one person to another; a sale deed is the commonest kind, where the transfer is for a price.

A general power of attorney (GPA) authorises someone to act for you across many matters; a special or specific power of attorney (SPA) authorises one defined task, such as registering a particular sale.

A gift deed transfers property now, while the owner is alive; it must be registered, and once accepted is hard to undo.

Both transfer ownership and both must be registered.

A relinquishment (release) deed is used by a co-owner, typically an heir, to give up their share in favour of the other co-owners.

A rent agreement is a lease: it gives the tenant an interest in the property for the term.

A lease transfers a right to enjoy property for a term in return for rent, and the tenant gets an interest in the property.

Stamp duty is a tax on the instrument, such as a sale deed, levied under the state's stamp law.

The circle rate is the minimum value per unit area the state sets for property in an area, used to work out stamp duty.

Guidance value is Karnataka's name, and guideline value Tamil Nadu's, for the minimum value the state sets per unit area for stamp duty.

A token amount is a small, informal payment to show intent and hold a property while terms are agreed.

The booking amount is the first payment to a builder to reserve a flat.

Maintenance charges are what a residential society or its maintenance agency bills owners for running the building.

IFMS (interest-free maintenance security) is a deposit collected by the builder that is meant to be held as a corpus and passed to the residents' association.

A preferential location charge (PLC) is an extra a builder charges for a better-placed unit, such as park-facing, corner or road-facing.

A fixed rate stays the same for the period the lender fixes it, which in India is often only the first few years.

EBLR (external benchmark lending rate) loans are linked to an outside benchmark, usually the RBI repo rate, and must reset at least once every three months.

A home loan funds buying, building or improving a home, and the home is the security.

A home loan funds a built home or its construction.

Pre-EMI is interest only on the amount disbursed so far, paid while an under-construction home is being built.

In a joint home loan, two or more co-borrowers apply together, their incomes are combined, and each is fully liable for the loan.

A gain on selling land or a building held for more than 24 months is a long-term capital gain (LTCG); held for 24 months or less, it is short-term (STCG).

Under the old Income-tax Act, 1961, section 194-IA required a buyer to deduct 1% TDS when buying property worth ₹50 lakh or more from a resident seller, and section 195 governed TDS on payments to a non-resident seller, on the gain at much higher rates.

An approved layout has a sanctioned plan from the planning authority, such as the state Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) or a metropolitan development authority, with roads, open spaces and plot sizes as approved.

Agricultural land may be used only for farming unless the state permits a change of use.

A freehold plot is owned outright with no end date.

A builder floor is one floor of a low-rise building on a single plot, sold as a separate unit with an undivided share of the land.

A villa is a standalone house on its own plot, usually in a gated community with shared amenities.

A duplex is a home on two floors connected by an internal staircase, which can be anywhere in a building.

A studio apartment is one open room that combines living, sleeping and a kitchenette, with a separate bathroom.

A 1RK is one room, a kitchen and a bathroom.

An SCO (shop-cum-office) is a commercial plot or building, common in planned sectors in Haryana and Punjab, with shops on the lower floors and offices above, often sold with the land or a share of it.

A pre-leased property is sold with a tenant already paying rent, so income starts on day one and the price reflects that rent.

A warehouse is built for storing and moving goods: clear height, loading docks, floor load and truck access matter most.

A RERA-registered project has disclosed its approvals, plans, timeline and promoter details to the state RERA authority, and buyers can complain there.

A resale home is bought from its current owner and is usually ready to move into, with a track record you can inspect.

A developer listing is posted by the builder of a project, usually for new or unsold units.