Loi Carrez is a French law that regulates the official listed floor size of a condominium or apartment in France. When an apartment is for sale in France the floor size will be listed as Surface Loi Carrez or the area followed by Loi Carrez 52m2 Loi Carrez. You can also find apartment listings for the total surface surface totale and then the Loi Carrez area en Loi Carrez 71m2 surface totale 52m2 en Loi Carrez.
It can be confusing, but just know that you are officially buying what is listed as Loi Carrez, even if you really will have a larger useable area. The Loi Carrez size is the floor area that should be in all official documents like the Compromis de Vente or Acte de Vente.
This video is an instance of how under Loi Carrez if the ceiling height of an area is less than 1.8 meters (5.9 ft), it isnt calculated in the official floor size. This is often found in rooms with a sloped roof, as in the example
Other examples of how under Loi Carrez areas arent counted are storage rooms like cellars, garages and parking places or detached rooms of less than 8 square meters (86 sq ft).
Related Links:
What is “LOI Carrez”? How is it measured?
Loi Carrez - Wikipedia
