¶ Living Area
The living area is the largest public room (irrespective of usage by occupants), added to all rooms not separated from that room, and including cupboards directly accessed from that room. Living area does not extend over more than one storey even when stairs enter the living area directly. Kitchens (including rooms like kitchen diners) are not considered public rooms on their own. The kitchen should be included when calculating the living room area if there is no door separating between the room identified as the largest public room and the kitchen. Doors or partitions between rooms should be solid and easily closable, therefore curtains are not considered as a partition. Partitions should be clearly identifiable when dwelling plans are being used.
Public rooms are typically called one of the following:
- living room,
- sitting room,
- lounge,
- parlour,
- drawing room,
- family room,
- good room, or,
- common room.
The following tables summarise the method used to determine the living area:
(a) Where the kitchen (or kitchen/diner) is not open to another public room:
¶ Table 2.3 – Living area
| Dwelling contains a kitchen (or kitchen/diner) | Dwelling contains other public room(s) | Living area specified in DEAP |
|---|---|---|
| √ | √ | Other separate public room with largest floor area |
| √ | X | Kitchen - as there is no public room |
(b) Where the kitchen (or kitchen/diner) is open to a public room and there is a separate public room in the house:
¶ Table 2.4 – Living area
| Situation | Living Area |
|---|---|
| Public area of kitchen >= area of largest other separate public room | Combined kitchen/diner/public room |
| Public area of kitchen < area of largest other separate public room | Other separate public room |
In (b), ’Public area of kitchen‘ = Area of combined room – (Area of kitchen/diner). This is the public room area adjoining the kitchen/diner.
In figure (b), it may not always be obvious where the kitchen/dining area ends, and the public room begins. Often, the boundary is marked by a change of floor surface from tiles or linoleum in the kitchen/diner to carpet or wooden flooring in the public room. Alternatively, a change in room width or style may indicate the change in room function. The assessor should choose the most pessimistic option (the option that results in larger living area of the potential valid options available when measuring the public room section floor area of a combined kitchen/diner/public room, if the boundary between public room and kitchen/diner is unclear or ambiguous.
¶ Living area fraction
The living area fraction is the floor area of the living area divided by the total floor area of the dwelling and is defined in dimensions.