Professions
Floor plans for property management
In management a floor plan is not a sales image but a basis for calculation. Floor areas appear in tenancy agreements, they drive apportionment keys and they resurface in every service-charge statement. A wrong number keeps working for years.
Yet the plan stock is often the worst part of the file: copies without a scale, states from three alterations ago, files in formats nobody opens any more. That can be fixed property by property, without a programme.
Areas that reconcile with statements
Keep, per unit, the living area with its derivation and separately the usable area of ancillary rooms. Cellars and laundry rooms do not count as living area but do matter to the value in use.
Common areas such as stairwells, corridors and drying rooms belong to no unit. If they get folded into a flat, the apportionment key is wrong — and the error only surfaces during an audit, often years later.
- Living area per unit with documented factors
- Usable area of ancillary rooms tracked separately
- Common areas allocated to no unit
- Per-storey totals reconciled with the rent roll
Keeping plans current
Every alteration, amalgamation and bathroom refit changes the plan. A simple rule works: whoever signs off the works updates the drawing. It is little effort in any single case and the only way a portfolio stays current.
Save the previous state before major works. A JSON backup per property and date costs nothing and documents what a floor area in a tenancy agreement was based on.
Documents for trades and tenants
Contractors do not need brochure styling, they need dimensions. A PDF with a scale bar is enough for most trades; for design work supply a DXF so nobody has to redraw.
Give tenants and prospects a view link or a PDF. The link has the advantage that everyone sees the same state while things can still change.
Frequently asked questions
Does a cellar count towards a tenant's floor area?
No. Cellars are ancillary spaces and stay outside living area. You can state them separately as usable area and attach that to the tenancy as additional information.
How do I handle common areas?
Show them on the plan but allocate them to no unit. Stairwells, corridors, laundry and drying rooms sit outside every unit's living area.
How do I keep the plan stock current?
With a fixed rule: whoever signs off works updates the drawing. Also save the previous state as a file before any major alteration.