Right measure

International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) are being developed and implemented by a growing international coalition of 62 leading standards organisations, representing professionals across the multi-trillion dollar property sector.

RICS, along with 61 professional bodies from around the world, has called for setting uniform measurement standards for the residential sector globally (including India) to bring clarity on various aspects of property measurement such as super built up area, built up area and carpet area.

Once the draft residential standards are formulated, RICS will seek formal endorsement from market regulator SEBI and Ministry of Housing.

The Indian real estate stakeholders have highlighted a number of important global residential measurement issues to address the enormous growth required to address the needs of their country.

Their concerns include lack of consistent residential measurement standards, phantom measurements, conflicts in off-plan measurement and consumer protection issues emanating from such inconsistent measurement standards. Currently in India, over seven different measurement systems exist. However, similar problems exist in even developed parts of the world such as USA and Middle East.

As a founding member of this coalition, RICS facilitated a two-day meeting of Standards Setting Committee comprising 18 global technical experts (including two from India) from different parts of the world, which was hosted at the RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University, India earlier this month.

The committee discussed global measurement issues and agreed on common standards to bring greater consistency and transparency. These international standards include

IPMS1: similar to super built area in India (external space)

IPMS2: similar to built area in India (internal space)

IPMS3: similar to carper area (occupied area)

These globally agreed terms i.e. IPMS 1, 2 and 3 are aimed at defining one common language for international real estate measurement, which would allow global investors and occupiers to compare and invest in assets in a consistent transparent manner.

“Government and industry at large is supportive of these global measurement standards, just like they have been for global valuation and global financial reporting standards. By adopting IPMS, Indian market has nothing to lose with a dual reporting system of nationally prevailing terms (such as carpet area) and IPMS. Instead, adoption of this international language of real estate measurement will give confidence to global investors and boost foreign investment in Indian property which in turn benefits Indian developers”. Sachin Sandhir, Global Managing Director, Emerging Business, RICS said.

IPMS will be implemented by all Coalition organisations including International Monetary Fund (IMF), through their members, and property owners, investors and users will be encouraged to use and request IPMS measurements of their properties. — TNS

IPMS looks to address current inconsistencies in the way property is measured (that is, what is included in the measurement, not the units of measurement) from one market to the next by introducing internationally recognised ‘standards’ for measuring different types of property, including offices, residential, retail and industrial proper.Rs

— Alexander Aronsohn FRICS,Director Technical International Standards, RICS said.