Calculating the total area of an apartment or any other property in Bulgaria is different from calculating the area of an apartment in many other countries. Often our clients ask our managers before buying an apartment, house, or commercial property what "built-up area" and "total area" mean. We would like to tell you in detail about the calculation of the area of the Bulgarian property, the principles of which are defined by law.
What is the built-up area of an apartment?
Any apartment or object in a building has its built-up area, which is described in the architectural design.
The built-up area includes the perimeter of the apartment along the walls. There are several nuances here:
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If the apartment wall is exterior, the built-up area includes the 1⁄2 thickness of the wall, and the other 1⁄2 refers to the common parts of the building;
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If the apartment wall is exterior with partitions (window or balcony door), the entire wall thickness is included in the built-up area;
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If the apartment wall is interior and borders an adjacent free-standing property, 1⁄2 of the thickness of that wall is included in the built-up area, and the other 1⁄2 is included in the built-up area of the adjacent property;
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If the wall is interior and borders common parts of the building (hallway, elevator, stairway, etc.), 1⁄2 of the thickness is included in the built-up area and the other 1⁄2 is included in the common parts of the building;
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The area of terraces, balconies, and loggias according to their external structural drawings is included in the built-up area;
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The area of an apartment or other facility located on more than one floor shall be equal to the sum of the areas of the individual floors, including the area of the stairwells.
The built-up area is the area you actually buy and use. The built-up area is described in the property deed, as well as in the cadastral chart of the property. Next, let's understand what the "common parts of the building" are.
Common parts of a building under Bulgarian law
The common parts of a building include common areas for all owners of the land on which the building is built, the yard, the foundation, outer walls, inner partitions, inner bearing walls, columns, ceilings, beams, stairs, extensions, roofs, exterior entrance doors of the building and doors to common attics and cellars (Article 38 of the Property Law).
The property document describes the % of ideal parts from the common parts - the percentage of the common parts of the building in relation to the area of the property.
Normally, ideal parts are attached to each property, which averages out to 10 to 20% of the total area of the residential property.
How to calculate the total area of an apartment in Bulgaria
According to Bulgarian legislation, the total area of the property includes the built-up area and % of the common parts of the building specifically for each apartment.
That is why if the total area is stated as 90 sq.m., in reality, the apartment will be smaller. In practice, our clients select their dream apartment not by sheer area of the apartment, but by other criteria: the location of the property, availability of furniture, view from the window, floor, etc.
For more details on how to calculate the area of the property in Bulgaria, please refer to "Regulation No 7 of 2003 on the rules and regulations for planning certain types of areas and spatial zones" and to the "Spatial Planning Act".
