Placepoint

BOA

BOA is the abbreviation for boligareal (housing area) and is an older Norwegian area term that covered the area in the primary part of the home itself: living rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, hallway. It corresponds roughly to today's UFA-i for the primary part and appears in sales prospectuses, valuations and purchase contracts from before 2008. Today BOA is out of active use, but you meet it regularly when you compare historical transactions or read old sales documents. The Swedish abbreviation BOA stands for boarea, a different measure that is still in use in Sweden.

BOA was used in parallel with UFA (bruksareal, usable floor area) and BTA (bruttoareal, gross floor area) until Norsk Standard NS 3940 was revised in 2007, with effect from 2008. The new standard phased out BOA and made UFA the main measure, supplemented by P-rom and S-rom as a functional split. In practice, BOA from a 1990s prospectus is not directly comparable with today's UFA: BOA covered only the primary part of the home, while UFA-i under NS 3940 includes both primary and secondary rooms within the dwelling unit (secondary rooms such as storage rooms, technical rooms and a garage inside the home). An older figure given as BOA is therefore lower than the same area would have been if measured under today's rules.

For a condition report, an e-takst and housing sale reports under NS 3600, BOA is not a valid reporting unit today. Valuers and building experts must use UFA under NS 3940 in its newest version (2023, with effect from 2024 for new prospectuses), with UFA-i, UFA-e and UFA-b as subcategories. The Cadaster does not register BOA either; the building's area is held there as UFA and BTA. Even so, you may come across BOA in:

  • Older tax returns and wealth statements where the area was given as BOA before the change.
  • Prospectuses, brochures and pictures from before about 2008. A flat advertised as "85 m² BOA" in 1995 probably has a corresponding UFA-i on the 2025 scale plus a few square metres of secondary rooms that were not included in BOA.
  • Older municipal zoning provisions that regulated plot use in %-BOA. These have mostly been updated to UFA when the plan was revised, but older plans that are still valid may still state BOA.

If you want to compare an older BOA figure with a present-day UFA, you must add the area of secondary rooms (storage rooms, technical rooms, any internal garage) and any glazed balconies that were not counted previously. For a typical flat, the difference between BOA and today's UFA-i is 0-5 m²; for a detached house with a large storage room, laundry room and garage it can be considerably larger. A thorough area calculation by a valuer is often needed to make older figures comparable.

For a primary residence and a secondary residence, Skatteetaten today uses P-rom or UFA, depending on the type of building, not BOA, when calculating the taxable value. Older wealth assessments may still refer to BOA, and must be handled with the same care as when comparing prospectuses.

From Placepoint's dictionary: BOA

More information: Standard Norge: NS 3940, Skatteetaten: Bolig og eiendom, Standard Norge: NS 3600 boligsalgsrapport

English: Living area (BOA, pre-2008 Norwegian measurement standard, replaced by P-rom).

Common questions we come across

What is BOA?

BOA is an older area term for housing area that covered the primary part of the home (living rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom). It was phased out when NS 3940 was revised in 2007, with effect from 2008.

Does BOA correspond to today's UFA?

Not directly. BOA covered the primary part alone, while UFA-i under today's NS 3940 also includes secondary rooms within the dwelling unit (storage rooms, technical rooms). A BOA value is typically lower than the same area measured as UFA-i.

Where do I meet BOA today?

Mainly in older prospectuses, valuations and contracts from before 2008, and in some older zoning plans that have not yet been updated to %-UFA.

Can I convert BOA to UFA?

Approximately, by adding the area of secondary rooms that were not included in the old BOA measurement. Accurate comparison usually requires a new measurement by a valuer under today's NS 3940.

Is BOA used in the Cadaster?

No. The Cadaster registers the building's area as UFA and BTA. BOA is not a valid category there.