What the square footage on an Alberta listing counts

Wisdom from The Desk

True or false · The square footage on a listing is the size of the house. False. In Alberta the figure is the house's above-grade space, measured to a published rule, and a floor level with any part below grade stays out of it.

Every licensee has to use the standard

The Real Estate Council of Alberta sets the Residential Measurement Standard, and its page puts the obligation in one line. "Real estate licensees must use the RMS when measuring and advertising properties." The same page holds the result to within 2 per cent of the RMS size.

It also puts the explaining on the licensee. Licensees "must ensure their clients understand the RMS and how it affects property size and suitability."

A level with any part below grade leaves the figure

This is the rule the belief misses. "Include floor levels that are entirely above grade and exclude floor levels if any portion is below grade." The next sentence reads, "Below grade levels may be measured, but the area must not be included in the RMS area."

Follow that through Calgary's housing stock. A bungalow with a developed basement advertises the main floor. A bi-level advertises its upper level, since part of the lower level sits below grade. A four-level split whose two lower levels sit partly in the ground loses both. A two-storey with a walkout leaves out its lowest level the same way. The developed space is real in every one of them, and any figure for it sits outside the headline one.

Ceiling height sets the edges. The standard asks for "a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.13 metres (7 feet)", and under a sloped ceiling it counts the area at 1.52 metres and above, provided the room reaches 2.13 metres somewhere.

A house and an apartment are measured at different walls

"For detached properties, measure the property using the exterior wall at the foundation." Semi-detached and townhouse properties are measured the same way. "For apartment style condominiums, measure the interior perimeter walls (paint-to-paint) at floor level."

So a house figure includes its own walls and an apartment figure stops at the paint. The standard lets an apartment listing add a second figure measured as though from the outside, labelled plainly as something other than the RMS size.

One exception is written for apartments. Where identical units in the same building sit fully above grade, a unit partly below grade may carry that area in its figure, with the below-grade area identified in the listing's public comments. Stacked townhouses with identical units take the same exception.

How to read two listings that look the same size

Take the figure as the above-grade area, measured to a rule, and look for the below-grade space separately. The standard lets a licensee measure a basement as long as its area stays out of the headline figure. Where a listing gives no below-grade figure at all, ask for one before the showing.

A builder's brochure is a different document. RECA's page notes that home builders do not have to use the RMS, since its jurisdiction covers real estate, mortgage brokerage, condominium management and property management licensees.

We write the below-grade area out in full on anything we list, because a number that leaves out half a bungalow is doing half a job. For apartments, our index of Calgary condo buildings is the place to start.

The figure is a measurement with a published rule under it, and the rule is on the regulator's own site.