The price sheet: reading a builder's cost sheet line by line

A builder's cost sheet usually has five blocks: the base price on the carpet area, extra charges, deposits, utility connections, and taxes and fees. The rate in the advertisement is only the first. Read every line, ask what each one buys, and check which ones the model agreement for sale already counts inside the Total Price.

One flat, three prices

Here is one flat priced three ways, with invented round numbers, not Indore rates.

That is ₹14 lakh more than the advertised figure. The tax lines depend on the rates in force and the guideline value.

The five blocks of a typical sheet

1. The price. Base rate × carpet area: the number you were quoted. Why carpet area is the only area that should be in it is in our guide to carpet, built-up and super built-up area.
2. Charges. Preferential location charge (PLC), floor rise, car parking, club membership, power backup.
3. Deposits. Interest-free maintenance security (IFMS), advance maintenance.
4. Utility charges. Electricity connection, water connection.
5. Taxes and fees. GST where it applies, explained in our guide to GST on a flat; stamp duty and registration, explained in the real cost of buying.

Madhya Pradesh's model agreement states the Total Price on the carpet area, with a break-up naming location charges, taxes and maintenance. The other names are trade usage.

Block 2: charges on top of the base price

• Location charge (PLC). Extra for a unit called better placed: park-facing, corner, road-facing. Ask what it faces, on the plan.
• Floor rise. The rate climbs by a fixed sum per floor once you are above a certain level. Ask from which floor it starts, and how much per floor.
• Club membership. Paid for use of the clubhouse and shared amenities. Ask whether it is compulsory, and whether the club is built yet.
• Power backup. Generator supply to your flat, usually priced by the load sanctioned to you. Ask for the kVA figure, and whose bill the diesel goes on.

Car parking: the line the Act defines

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act draws a line through the parking charge.

• A garage is a place with a roof and walls on three sides. Garages can be sold: a project declares the number and area of garages for sale at registration, and the model agreement prices each one separately.
• Open parking belongs with the lobby and the stairs, among the common areas. Common areas pass to the association of allottees, not to one buyer.

A line charging you for an open space deserves a direct question about what you are buying.

Blocks 3 and 4: money held, and money for wires and pipes

IFMS is a one-time deposit held against future repairs or unpaid dues. Ask whether it is refundable, or handed over to the association, and when. Advance maintenance is maintenance collected ahead for a set period. Ask from which date, and for how many months.

The connection lines need more care. The MP model agreement already counts wiring, electrical connectivity, the water line and plumbing inside the Total Price. It also has the promoter maintain essential services until the association takes over, with "the cost of such maintenance" included in the total price. So a separate connection line should say what it pays for, and an advance-maintenance line which months it covers.

Sort every line into one of four boxes

What binds is the agreement, not the sheet

Every number on the sheet belongs in the agreement for sale, under five rules.

1. The price is stated on the carpet area, with a break-up of what it includes (model agreement, cl. 1.2).
2. Open parking is a common area, and common areas go to the association (Act, s. 2(n) and s. 17).
3. The agreement names the payments: the dates and manner of each, in a payment plan (Act, s. 13(2); model agreement, cl. 1.4 and Schedule C).
4. No more than 10% before a registered agreement, whether called an advance or an application fee (Act, s. 13(1)).
5. The Total Price is escalation-free. Only an increase in charges levied by a competent authority can be added, with its order attached (model agreement, cl. 1.3).

Nothing signed before the registered agreement can reduce your rights under it.

Six questions before the token

Ask these, get the answers on paper, and take the sheet home before any token.

1. Is this figure the Total Price, or just the base rate? Ask to see all five blocks.
2. Which of these lines are optional? The club, the backup, a second parking space are the usual ones.
3. Which deposits will be returned? Ask when, to whom, and which clause says so.
4. Which parking space is allotted to me? A garage or covered space, identified by number in the agreement.
5. How will the payments be scheduled? Ask for the stage-by-stage plan exactly as the agreement will carry it.
6. Is the token no more than 10%? Ask, too, on what date the agreement will be registered. More on the token itself in our guide to token money and the agreement to sell.

Questions people ask

What is included in a builder's cost sheet?

Usually five blocks: the base price on the carpet area, charges such as PLC, floor rise, parking, club and power backup, deposits such as IFMS, utility connection charges, and taxes and fees.

Is car parking charge legal under RERA?

A garage, with a roof and walls on three sides, can be sold and priced separately. Open parking is listed as a common area and passes to the association of allottees, not to one buyer.

How much booking amount can a builder take under RERA?

Not more than 10% of the cost of the apartment as an advance or application fee before a written agreement for sale is registered, under section 13(1) of the Act.

Where the facts come from. The facts and figures in this post come from verified government sources and verified RERA-registered brokers.

Indori Zameen is a private platform. It is not a government body and is not affiliated with one — always confirm a record with the concerned authority before you commit money.