Are: What Is an Are in Land Measurement

An are is a metric unit of land measurement equal to 100 square metres, which is about 1,076.39 sq ft. A square plot of 10 m by 10 m is exactly 1 are, and 100 are make 1 hectare.

What is an are in land measurement?

The are (आर, pronounced "aar") is a legal unit of area in India. The Legal Metrology (National Standards) Rules, 2011 list the are and the hectare as units for land, and say that prefixes such as kilo must not be used with them. That is why you never see a "kilo are".

Many people meet the are for the first time on a land record. Several states now keep their records in hectare, are and square metre, even though people still buy and sell land in cents, guntha, bigha or acre.

1 are in other units

• 1 are = 100 sq m
• 1 are = 1,076.39 sq ft
• 1 are = 119.6 sq yd (gaj)
• 1 are = 2.4711 cents or decimal
• 1 are = 0.9884 guntha
• 1 are = 0.0247 acre
• 1 acre = 40.47 are, and 1 hectare = 100 are

Are to cent and square feet table

Where you will see the are

• Kerala: revenue records and land tax use ares, while people trade in cents. 1 are is about 2.47 cents.
• Tamil Nadu: Patta and Chitta show extent in hectare, are and square metre. A figure like "0 02 50" means 0 hectare, 2 are and 50 sq m, which is 250 sq m or 2,690.98 sq ft. It does not mean 2 acres.
• Maharashtra: the 7/12 extract shows area in hectare and are (H.R.). People talk in guntha, and 1 guntha is a little more than 1 are.
• Gujarat and Karnataka: 7/12 and RTC extracts often show hectare and are alongside older units.
• Andhra Pradesh: newer resurvey records use hectare, are and square metre.

The metric chain

• 1 sq m = 10.7639 sq ft
• 1 are = 100 sq m
• 1 hectare = 100 are = 10,000 sq m = 2.4711 acre

How to convert are

1. Are to square feet: multiply by 1,076.39. Example: 4 are = 4,305.56 sq ft.
2. Are to cents: multiply by 2.4711. Example: 4 are = 9.88 cents.
3. Are to acre: divide by 40.47. Example: 20 are = 0.4942 acre.
4. Are to hectare: divide by 100. Example: 35 are = 0.35 hectare.

Worked example: a Kerala tax receipt shows 8.1 are. Multiply by 2.4711 and you get about 20.02 cents, or 8,718.77 sq ft.

Use are to square feet, are to acre and are to hectare for quick answers.

What an are looks like

A square of 10 m by 10 m is about 32.8 ft on each side. A plot of 25 ft by 43 ft (1,075 sq ft) is very close to 1 are. A typical 30 ft by 40 ft city plot (1,200 sq ft) is about 1.11 are.

Are and guntha are not the same

People in Maharashtra and Karnataka sometimes treat 1 are and 1 guntha as equal. They are close but not equal. 1 guntha is 101.17 sq m, while 1 are is 100 sq m. On 40 guntha (1 acre), the difference adds up to 504.36 sq ft. Always convert exactly.

Practical tips

• Read the units column on your record before you convert. "H.R." or "ha" means hectare and are.
• Round only at the end. Rounding 1 are to 1,076 sq ft loses about 0.39 sq ft per are.
• For a sale or partition, confirm the extent with the village or taluk office and check the land record. See the Kerala and Tamil Nadu guides.