A French order issued by the government aims to simplify the definition of different surfaces in urban planning, replacing the concepts of “gross floor area” and “net floor area” by a single definition of floor area.
An order issued on 16th November 2011 regarding the definition of floor area will come into force on 1st March 2012. It aims at simplifying the concepts of different surface areas in urban planning, replacing the net floor area and gross floor area by a single definition of floor area. From 1st March 2012, “floor area of the building means the sum of closed and covered floor areas, under a ceiling height in excess of 1.80 m, calculated within the indoor walls of the building façades”. The goal is to remove the indoor insulation from the floor area calculation and therefore not to penalise indoor insulation works.
The other objective is to encourage housing construction.
However, the order actually reduces the surface from which the use of an architect is required (currently 170 m² of net floor area and 170 m² of floor area from 1st March 2012).