Total covered area of a property in square feet, used to calculate price per sqft, service charge, and rental rates.
BUA stands for Built-Up Area, the total covered internal floor space of a property, measured in square feet. For apartments it's the unit's internal area plus balcony allocation. For villas it's the total covered floor space across all floors, separate from the plot or land area.
BUA is the denominator for everything. Price per sqft, service charge per sqft per year, and rental rate per sqft are all calculated on BUA. When comparing two properties, always compare BUA, not asking price. A Palm villa might list at AED 30M and look cheaper than another at AED 35M, but if the BUAs are 5,500 and 7,200 sqft respectively, the second is cheaper per square foot.
Mario walks every European investor through these mechanics on the first call. The diligence trail is what separates a clean deal from a regret.