Residential Measurement Standard

Alberta real estate licensees must use the Residential Measurement Standard (RMS) when measuring residential properties. Your real estate licensee is required to discuss the RMS with you to ensure you understand its implications and how it helps you make informed decisions about the size and suitability of available residential properties.

Why is there a standard for residential measurements on listings?

The RMS offers a consistent means of representing the property’s above grade space. Among other things, the RMS sets out what parts of a property can be included in its measured-area. For example, if a room has a dormer with a ceiling height of only 4 feet, is it included as floor space? What about finished basements that are entirely below grade? The RMS information benefits consumers because:

  • sellers want their property size accurately described
  • buyers want to ensure the property size meets their needs
  • buyers and sellers want to be able to compare the size of different types of properties
  • landlords want to accurately describe their rental property’s size
  • tenants want accurate information regarding their leased space size

When stating a residential property’s area, your real estate representative must follow the RMS principles:



  1. Real estate professionals must use the RMS.

  2. Identify if the measurement system is metric or imperial, and apply it consistently. Measurements must be calculated to within 2% of the RMS size.

  3. For detached properties, measure the property using the exterior wall at the foundation.

  4. For semi-detached and townhouse properties, measure the property using the exterior wall at the foundation. If the thickness of the demising wall(s) cannot be determined the thickness of an exterior wall shall be used.

  5. For apartment style condominiums, measure the interior perimeter walls (paint-to-paint) at floor level. An additional area representation may be made assuming exterior measurements.

  6. Include floor levels that are entirely above grade and exclude floor levels if any portion is below grade. Below grade levels may be measure, but the area must not be included in the RMS area.

  7. Include all additions to the main structure and conversions of above grade areas within the structure if they are weatherproof and suitable for year-round use.

  8. The property must have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.13 metres (7 feet). If the ceiling is sloped, the area with a floor-to-ceiling- height of at least 1.52 metres (5 feet) is included in the RMS area, provided there is a ceiling height of 2.13 metres (7 feet) somewhere in the room.

  9. Included extensions from the main structure that have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 1.5 metres (5 feet), such as cantilevers, bay and bow window, and dormers.

  10. Exclude open areas that have no floor, such as vaulted areas.


As a buyer, your real estate representative must explain the relationship between property size and price, the measured size the seller is representing, what it entails, and information about details like above grade and below grade measurements.

Property size and measurement are important factors for most buyers and your real estate professional must discuss the following with you:

  • how property size factors into a buyer’s decision to purchase
  • the relationship between property size and asking price
  • the RMS, including:
    • What is included and excluded in the measurements
    • How professionals take measurements and calculate them
  • if the property is a condominium:
    • The different between RMS size and the condominium unit registered size
    • What is included and excluded in the RMS size
    • What is included and excluded in the condominium unit registered size
  • your options to determine property size, and your instructions

Many purchase contracts contain clauses placing the onus on the buyer to verify the property size. If property size is important to you, tell your representative, and take steps to verify the size rather than relying on the seller’s representation.

If you want to verify measurements, you can ask your real estate professional to hire a property measurement company or you or your real estate representative can measure the property. You and your real estate professional should discuss whether you should take measurements before making an offer to purchase or as a condition of your offer, and who will pay the cost of the measurement company.

Throughout this process, as a buyer, keep in mind that a property’s size isn’t the only thing sellers are using to set a listing price for their home. Two homes, with the exact same measurements, are unlikely to sell at the same price. The price of a home will also depend on features, décor, state of upkeep.


As a seller, your real estate representative must explain the relationship between property size and price, the role of the RMS, what it entails, and information about details like above grade and below grade measurements.

Your real estate professional is required to discuss the following with you:

  • the relationship between property size and asking price
  • the RMS, including:
    • what is included and excluded in the measurements
    • how professionals take measurements and calculate them
    • how size descriptors in marketing materials must follow the RMS
  • if the property is a condominium:
    • the different between RMS size and the condominium unit registered size
    • what is included and excluded in the RMS size
    • what is included and excluded in the condominium unit registered size
  • sellers are not required to represent the size of their property, however:
    • property size is often important to buyers and other real estate professionals
    • the listing service/property database may have a mandatory property size field
  • if the seller wants to represent the size of their property, they need to use RMS
    • sellers and their professionals may provide additional information, if it’s not misleading and it meets RMS requirements
  • if the real estate professional will measure the seller’s property or engage another qualified person to measure it based on the RMS and who will pay the cost

Throughout this process, as a seller, keep in mind that a property’s size isn’t the only thing buyers are concerned about. Two homes, with the exact same measurements, are unlikely to sell at the same price. The price of your home will also depend on features, décor, state of upkeep.


Are you getting ready to buy or sell a home? If you’re a buyer, have you thought about how much space you want? If you’re a seller, have you thought about how the size of your home will affect your list price?

Property size is important, and the Residential Measurement Standard (RMS) in Alberta provides a consistent way to communicate property size for both buyers and sellers. It contains nine principles that real estate professionals must follow when measuring and representing the size of residential property.
Here are the top six things buyers and sellers need to know about residential property measurement, and the Residential Measurement Standard, in Alberta.

  1. If you include the size of your property in its listing, the size has to be calculated using the Residential Measurement Standard. As a seller, you’re not required to include the size of your property in the listing, but since property size is important information for most buyers, most sellers include it.  If you include the size of your property in the listing, your real estate representative needs to use the RMS to calculate the area.

  2. The RMS area only includes above-grade space. The RMS area of a property is the sum of its above grade levels. You cannot include below grade or partially below grade levels of a property, such as a basement or the bottom level in a bi-level, in the RMS area. Your listing can include information about below grade area, but that area is not included in the RMS area, and the listing needs to be clear the additional area is below grade.

  3. RMS size and condominium unit registered size are not the same thing. All condominiums have a unit registered size. Condominium unit registered size and RMS area are not the same thing, and they aren’t interchangeable. Condominium unit registered size might include areas that are below grade or that are not suitable for year-round use — such as enclosed patios. It may also include areas that aren’t connected to the unit, such as a storage locker or parking stall. RMS area does not include these areas. Since the condominium unit registered size and RMS size for a condominium unit are often different, your real estate professional must calculate the area of a condominium unit using the RMS. If you’re also going to include the condominium unit registered size, you must do so separately and it must state what areas are included in the condominium unit registered size (garage, below grade space, etc.)

  4. You can include additional measurement information in your listing. If as a seller you want your real estate professional to advertise additional measurements, they can, with some limitations. Before offering any additional measurement information, you must ensure your listing communicates the RMS area. After that your listing can offer measurements that include:
    • the below grade areas of the property;
    • the size of structures not connected to the property;
    • structures connected to the property that do not meet the year-round requirements, and;
    • for attached properties, the assumed exterior size so that the property can be compared to detached properties (if it’s an attached or semi-detached property)

  5. Areas included in the RMS have to be weatherproof and suitable for year-round use. Suitable for year-round use means it needs to be possible to heat the space to 22°C in the winter. In order to include spaces or structures in a property’s RMS area, they need to be a permanent structure, attached to the main heating system (or have their own permanent heating system), and be permanently attached to the main electrical service. For example, if your property has a sunroom that meets the heating requirement but isn’t permanently connected to your main electricity, it cannot be included in the RMS area of your home.

  6. Size isn’t the only consideration in the sale price of a home. Some sellers expect their home to sell for a certain amount based on what homes identical in size have recently sold for in their area. The logic is same size, same neighbourhood, same price, but that’s not the reality. There isn’t always a proportional relationship between the size of a property and its sale price. A lot of factors determine a property’s sale price. These factors include age of the home, layout of the home, features, and finishing.  Size is just one factor.


Q

A

What is the purpose of the Residential Measurement Standard (RMS)?

The RMS gives consumers and industry professionals accurate and consistent property measurements, which they can use to compare properties and determine their suitability. Proper application of the RMS ensures real estate professionals provide reliable and verifiable property size and dimensions.

Q

A

How do I measure properties according to the RMS?

It depends on the type of property you are measuring.

  • Measure detached properties using the exterior wall at the foundation. Detached properties include fully detached bare land condominiums.
  • Measure semi-detached and townhouse properties using the exterior wall at the foundation. If the thickness of the demising walls cannot be determined, use the thickness of an exterior wall.
  • Measure attached properties using the interior perimeter walls at floor level.

Q

A

Do I have to measure every room and closet in an attached property?

No. You can use long runs.

Q

A

How do I compare attached and detached properties?

To compare different types of residential properties, real estate professionals can provide an additional measurement for attached properties using the property’s exterior. Real estate professionals must base this additional measurement on reasonable assumptions about the exterior wall thickness, and can extrapolate the exterior wall thickness from the thickness of the exterior door casings and/or exterior window casings. If real estate professionals provide additional measurements based on exterior assumptions, they must make it clear it is not the RMS area for the property, and explain their assumptions.

Q

A

Do I have to communicate the RMS for every property I list?

It depends on the seller’s direction. Sellers are not required to represent the size of their property; however:

  • property size is often important to buyers and other real estate professionals<
  • the listing service/property database may have a mandatory property size field
  • If the seller wants you to communicate the size of the listing and/or the listing service/property database has a mandatory property size field, it must be the RMS.

Q

A

Do I have to measure the property myself?

No. Consumers are not required to measure their property or to adhere to the RMS. However, if your real estate professional is advertising the property size to sell your home, they must measure the property themselves or hire a company to measure using the RMS.

To determine whether someone is competent to measure properties in accordance with the RMS, you might ask them to detail:

  • how were they/their staff trained in the RMS
  • the number of properties they/their staff measured using the RMS<
  • the equipment, processes, and software they use to calculate the RMS
  • references from other real estate professionals who have used their service

In addition, you should ensure the person or service has Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance for their measurement services.

Q

A

What about apartments on the ground floor where a portion or all of the unit are below grade?

I am listing a 2-storey condominium apartment in a large building where all apartments are the same. The apartments are 2-storey apartments. The apartment I am listing is on the ground level and one of the stories in the apartment is 2-feet below grade. If I don’t include the below-grade portion of the apartment, the apartment will appear to be significantly smaller in my local board’s database than other same size apartments in the same building. How should I deal with this situation?

The RMS provides an exception for properties that are entirely below grade.

The outcome of this exception means that if apartments in a building were the same and were one level, there would be no discrepancy between all of the apartments in the building except that the apartments below grade would have a clarification to say that the entire property is below grade. To be consistent with this outcome, you can include the below grade portion in your local board’s RMS field, but you will need to identify size of the area that is below grade in the public comments of the listing information.

You may also provide additional information that would be of value to the marketing of the property such as identifying the depth of the level below grade. This approach will also be applicable for stacked townhouses with identical units.

Q

A

Can I use the size listed in a municipal tax roll as the RMS if I disclose where I got the information?

No.

Q

A

Can I use the size in a listing database from a previous listing of the property?

No. Real estate professionals have an obligation to their clients to perform their due diligence. Measuring the property according to the RMS or having it measured by a qualified individual is part of that due diligence. There is no guarantee as to the accuracy of the previous listing’s measurements and the property may have been renovated or added to since it was last listed which could have changed its area measurements.

However, there are some limited circumstances when re-measuring is not required. Re-measuring is not required when renewing a recently expired listing or the property is a rental unit with a property management agreement that indicates the property will be listed for rent multiple times during the agreement as vacancies arise.

Q

A

Can I use the condominium unit registered size as the RMS size?

No. You must use the RMS.

The Condominium Unit Registered Size was not intended to enable size comparisons between properties. The purpose of the Condominium Unit Registered Size is to calculate the condominium unit’s “unit factor.” The condominium registered size does not provide proper comparisons between units in the same condominium or between units from different condominiums, as the CURS can include items, such as garages, parking spaces, separate storage areas, below grade areas, and balconies.

Q

A

What happens if the RMS size is larger than the condominium unit registered size?

If the RMS is larger than the condominium unit registered size, you should recheck your calculations. In the majority of cases, the condominium unit registered size will be larger than the RMS size because most condominium unit registered sizes include wall thickness and other areas such as such as garages, parking spaces, separate storage areas, below grade areas, and balconies.

Q

A

My seller client is upset because when they bought the property, the seller represented it as larger. What do I do?

The seller may have purchased the property under a different size standard that provides a larger size value by including areas that are not included as part of the RMS.

It is important for you to discuss this with the seller. When buyers purchase resale residential properties, there is often a correlation between the property size and the sale price, but the correlation is not proportional. The property’s size is only one of many factors that influence the sale price. Other factors include the property’s location, layout, style, modernization, finishing, amenities, etc.

Explain to the seller that their property has not shrunk, and that all real estate professionals who are listing properties will measure according to the RMS so there is consistency, and there will not be a competitive disadvantage. If the seller’s property is attached and you believe buyers will compare it to detached properties, you can advise the seller that you will also communicate the assumed exterior size.

Q

A

Why don’t non-industry members such as home builders have to use the RMS?

RECA only has jurisdiction through the Real Estate Act over real estate, mortgage brokerage, real estate appraisal, and property management professionals.



More Info: