In Quebec, calculating the living area (or dwelling area or residential square footage) is not governed by law. Since it can be difficult to sort out all the information on this subject, our team has put together these references and calculations to help you determine your amount of living area. 

 
Calculating the living area
You won’t need to get your tape measure for this. On the last page of your surveyor’s certificate (certificate of localisation), you’ll find a floor plan (or top view) that provides the measurements to use. The calculation is different if it’s a single-family home or a condo.

Single-family homes (including row houses)

For this type of property, the measurements are taken from the exterior part of the outside walls. In real estate jargon, this is known as the outside gross area.

NB: If you have a semi-detached or row house, the measurement should be taken from the halfway point of the party (common) walls.

Download the example for your property type:  

Bungalow
 
Split-entrance house
 
Split-level house

One-and-a-half storey house
 
Multiple-storey house

Divided co-ownership

For divided co-owned property, that is, where the owner owns the entirety of their private portion, the living area is calculated from the internal part of the walls delimiting your private unit. This is a calculation of the net area. 

If you don’t have your surveyor’s certificate at hand, you can request it from your condo board (syndicate). There’s a good chance they’ll be able to give you your floor plan.  

Example — Divided condo

Undivided co-ownership

There are two ways of calculating the living area of undivided condos, where the owner owns a percentage of the whole building:

Scenario 1
It is most likely the case that you have the surveyor’s certificate for the whole building. You would then calculate the living area from the external part of the outside walls, i.e., the outside gross area. Use the same inclusions and exclusions given for a single-family home, but also exclude the stair enclosure if it is not used for your unit.

Example – Undivided condo without individual floor plan

Scenario 2
If you have the floor plan for your individual unit, calculate the living area from the internal part of the walls delimiting your private unit, i.e., the net area. As you would for a divided condo, include hallways, storage and closets. And exclude garages, balconies and, where applicable, the basement.  

Example – Undivided condo with individual floor plan

Available on your assessment roll 

One of the easiest ways to get an idea of your living area is to consult your municipality’s property assessment (or valuation) roll. In it you’ll find the “storey area,” which generally corresponds to the living area. However, you should be aware that different cities may use different calculation methods and that these may not be 100% the same as the calculation methods recommended for a real estate sale. So, to make sure you’re listing the living area accurately, we recommend you recalculate what’s on the assessment roll. 

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