Apartment area: how it is measured, and what counts as a permitted deviation

The square-metre figure is the number a buyer remembers. It is also the number that cannot be compared between projects without knowing two things: by what method it was measured, and what it includes.

That is where the Sale of Apartments Order (Specification Form) comes in. It fixes the calculation of an apartment's area under detailed rules and does not leave the method to the seller's choice.

The method: the external polygon

The rule in the Order is explicit: the area of the apartment is the area enclosed by the polygon formed by the lines running along the external faces of the external walls. The measurement is taken from the outside face of the external walls, not from the inside face where the buyer lives.

That produces a structural gap, present in every project and not a defect: the registered area is larger than the area you can lay flooring on. The gap depends on the thickness of the external walls, so an apartment in a building with thicker walls shows a less flattering ratio between the number and the feeling — even where both numbers were measured correctly.

Hence the practical conclusion: there is no point comparing a registered area with what you measured with a tape in the living room. Both measurements are correct; they simply measure two different things.

What sits outside the number

Part A of the specification lists, separately from the apartment's area, the additional areas — balconies, parking, storeroom and garden. Each is recorded on its own line and does not enter that number. So "120 sq m" that includes a 30 sq m balcony is a marketing description, not a figure from the specification.

Permitted deviation: up to 2%

The specification includes a section of permitted deviations, among them a deviation of up to 2% in area. The area actually delivered may therefore differ from the area in the specification within that range without being treated as a non-conformity.

Two calculations worth doing before signing:

1. What it amounts to. 2% of a 100 sq m apartment is two square metres. Work out that figure at the project's price per square metre so you understand the order of magnitude.
2. What happens beyond 2%. Exceeding the permitted deviation is not a larger deviation — it is a non-conformity, and the rules on notice and repair then apply. See the article on notice of non-conformity.

Five questions that replace ten conversations

1. What is the apartment's area as recorded in Part A of the specification — the figure, not a range?
2. What are the additional areas, each on its own line: balcony, parking, storeroom, garden?
3. What are the ceiling heights under Part B?
4. What permitted deviation is recorded for this project?
5. Do the attached drawings agree with the numbers in the text?

Why transparency on areas serves the developer

A number recorded clearly and explained in advance does not produce a dispute on handover day. A specification that separates the apartment's area from the balcony, and states the permitted deviation expressly, spares both sides the least pleasant conversation in the transaction. The apartment mix at Mitzpe Kalaniyot is set out on the project page, and the full specification is available through the contact page.