Definition of living area

Hello everyone,

we recently signed a contract for building a house. It was an already planned house that was offered with just under 125m² of living space. However, that was a bit too small for us, so we had it contractually guaranteed that our house would have 10m² more living space.

Recently, the plans for the building application came, and lo and behold, the final living space of our house will be just under 127m². I can understand that 3% are deducted from the original "gross" living space for plaster. But then another 1m² is deducted for the sloping roof.

Is it legal to suggest living space here that simply does not exist? Because as far as I understand the legal texts, the slopes must be deducted from the floor area and not from the living space. Thus, the original house would probably not have had 125m², but rather about 118m².

Thanks in advance
Regards
Frett

What does the contract say about living space according to IIBV or Din 277?

Hello,

I still believe that in some cases it is also a matter of interpretation, because otherwise I cannot explain the contrast between some households.

That has nothing to do with interpretation. Area calculation is done according to the Living Space Ordinance or DIN 277. And there are big differences.

Although I actually also believe that some landlords like to increase the living space and don’t really know what they are renting out. ;)

An architect usually does not even present a rough draft without a cost note - with a few exceptions known to me :rolleyes:

.....he doesn’t have those things already finished and standardized in the drawer by the dozen anyway ;)

Regards

Hello E.Curb,

.....he doesn’t have a bunch of those already finished and standardized in the drawer ;)

:D

I know, my main concern was to make it clear that from a provider on the market—regardless of the type—more and more is expected from potential builders. With an architect, it is taken completely for granted that he issues an invoice for his work ;)

Kind regards

Most catalog houses offer the living area according to DIN, as the figure is larger. The DIN basically calculates with the floor area. The living area according to the Wohnflächenverordnung is then smaller because areas under sloping ceilings only count partially. For example, we have 160 sqm according to DIN, 145 according to Wohnflächenverordnung. Whereas the differences can be much higher with a low knee wall height. In urban villas, the areas are the same - due to the lack of sloping ceilings.

What does the contract say about living space according to IIBV or DIN 277?

Morning!

Whereas the II. BV is old news and never applied to privately financed residential space, and DIN 277 specifies the usable area, not the living space :p.

Best regards,
TomTom.