Apartment balconies

If an apartment is 80 sq metres, does this include the balcony or is it in addition to the 80 sq metres?

Hello europhile

If you are thinking of buying, this is something you should clarify with the estate agent or developer, and ask for some floor plans to verify. I have seen sales spiel where an apartment was described as 80 sqm, but 20 of that was the balcony making a huge difference to your interior space. It can be hard to gauge when walking around a show apartment or your empty build so the floorplans are the way to go.

It's a typical charade put on by Estate Agents. The balcony area cannot be classed as living space and therefore cannot be priced the same as the liveable space.

Mercman is asolutely right. Outdoor space should not be calculated in the calculation of apartment floorspace, which is officially living space. It would be like including the area of a rear garden in the calculation of the floorspace of a house. It makes no sense. However, I have experience of estate agents including the area of a balcony (in my case 14 square metres) in the calculation of the apartment floorspace. I imagine if they can get away with it, they will do it - after all who is regulating or checking this.

I would definately recommend getting the estate agent to confirm this and also get the apartment (when completed, if not already) measured. An apartment that I was signed into buying was 20square metres smaller than advertised when completed, which is a significant difference!! We managed to get our money back as it comprised a fundamental flaw in the contract, but others I know in the same block were not so lucky. Some people didn't measure up until after they signed final contracts and moved in only to discover a large amount of missing floorspace.

Also, I would be cautious of measuring from floorplans. Often what is shown on plans and what is actually built is very different. That has been my experience anyway.