The four questions that matter
Everything else is detail underneath these.
- Is it in the approved plan, or only in the brochure?
- When does it open, relative to the tower you are buying in?
- Who operates it, and who pays for what?
- What does it cost to run, every month, for as long as you own the home?
Note that square footage and amenity count appear in none of them. Those are the two numbers brochures lead with, and they are the two least predictive of whether you will use the place.
Is it in the approved plan?
A sanctioned plan is a document the authority approved. A render is an illustration a studio produced. They are not the same category of thing, and the difference becomes visible only when something is not built.
So ask to see the amenity block on the sanctioned plan, with its footprint and position on the site. Then check three things against it:
- Does its position match the marketing site plan? An amenity block that migrates between the brochure and the sanction is worth a question.
- Are the outdoor amenities shown? Courts, pool, play areas and jogging track occupy land, and land is what a plan allocates.
- Is it inside the phase you are buying into, or a different one?
The same documents answer this as the rest of your due diligence. The RERA filing for the phase carries the approved plan and the project details, so you are not asking for anything unusual.
When does it actually open?
Your tower can be complete, certified and occupied while the clubhouse is still a site. If the clubhouse belongs to a later phase, it carries that phase's completion date, not yours.
For a buyer choosing a project substantially for its amenities, this is the single most consequential question in the whole evaluation, and it is answered by a document rather than by an assurance.
Ask, in this order:
- Which phase does the clubhouse sit in?
- What is that phase's declared completion date on its RERA registration?
- Is there an interim or temporary facility in the meantime, and what does it contain?
- Will a partial occupancy certificate cover the clubhouse, or only the residential towers?
Among the projects on this site, Folium is published as four separately RERA registered phases and Panorama as two. In any phased project, phase membership is the question that decides your amenity timeline.
Who runs it and who pays
Three separate arrangements, often conflated:
| Arrangement | Typically covers | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Facility management | Housekeeping, security, plant and equipment upkeep | Inside the monthly maintenance charge |
| Operated facilities | Coached sports academies, personal training, spa, salon | Usually a separate fee per user |
| Residents' association | Governance, rules, budgets, the reserve fund | Takes over from the developer after handover |
Questions that follow from that table:
- What exactly does the monthly maintenance charge include, and what sits outside it?
- How long does the developer's facility management arrangement run before handover to the association?
- Is there a reserve fund for replacing equipment? Gym machines, pool plant and HVAC all have a finite life, and replacing them is a large bill that arrives years after possession.
- What is the guest policy, and is there a charge?
Want the amenity list and maintenance estimate for a project?
The sanctioned amenity scope, the phase it sits in and the estimated maintenance charge are all documented. Tell us which project you are comparing.
How to read an amenity count
An amenity count is a marketing unit, not a standard measure. There is no rule about what counts as one amenity, so two projects can describe comparable facilities as 90 and 150.
What inflates a count:
- Landscape features listed individually: a garden, a lawn, a court, a seating zone, a trail.
- Rooms counted separately when they share one hall.
- Outdoor and indoor versions of the same activity counted twice.
So convert the count into a short list of what you will actually use in a normal week. For most households that is three to six things: a pool, a gym, a place for children to play, a hall for occasional gatherings, somewhere to walk. Check those specific items properly and treat the headline number as background.
The 12 point visit checklist
Take this to the site. If the clubhouse is not built, ask each question against the plan.
- Pool. Length, depth, whether there is a separate children's pool, whether it is heated, and the hours it opens.
- Gym. Floor area, equipment count, ventilation, and whether coaching is included or charged.
- Indoor courts. Which sports, ceiling height, flooring type, and booking rules.
- Outdoor courts. Surface, floodlighting, and distance from the nearest bedrooms, because evening play carries.
- Children's play area. Shade, surfacing, age suitability, and sight lines from seating.
- Party or banquet hall. Capacity, kitchen or pantry, booking charge, and how many bookings a year a single home may make.
- Co-working or study space. Increasingly the most used room in a clubhouse. Check power points, seating and whether it is bookable.
- Toilets and changing rooms. Number and condition. This is the most reliable single indicator of how well a facility is run.
- Access control. How entry is managed, and whether tenants and guests have the same rights as owners.
- Hours and rules. Opening times, quiet hours, and what closes first when budgets tighten.
- Distance and route from your tower. Walk it. A clubhouse across the site in the rain is used less than one two minutes away.
- Maintenance condition, if the project or a sister project is occupied. Visit one the developer completed a few years ago. That tells you more than any new show facility.
Point twelve is the highest value item on the list. A brand new clubhouse looks excellent everywhere. A five year old one shows you what the operating standard actually is.
What the published figures tell you
The projects on this site publish clubhouse sizes and amenity counts: Edition a 66,000 sq ft clubhouse anchoring 150 plus amenities, Folium a 54,000 sq ft Club Sumadhura with 120 plus amenities and branded academies for swimming, badminton, tennis, squash and dance, Solace a 45,000 sq ft clubhouse with 90 plus wellness and leisure amenities, and Panorama 50 plus resort style amenities.
Clubhouse sizes and amenity counts are as published by the developer. Confirm the sanctioned scope, the phase and the delivery timeline with the project team.
Those are inputs, not conclusions. The figure that turns them into a comparison is clubhouse area divided by the number of homes sharing it, and that arithmetic, worked out across these communities, is in the low density article. Read it alongside this one: that article tells you how much club there is per household, this one tells you whether the club will exist, open on time and be run properly.
How do I know the clubhouse will actually be built?
Ask to see it in the sanctioned plan rather than the brochure. A sanctioned plan is an approved document showing what the authority permitted, and the amenity block appears on it with its footprint and location. A render is a marketing illustration and carries no commitment. Also confirm which phase the clubhouse sits in and what its own completion date is.
Do clubhouse amenities cost extra?
Often, partly. Basic access is usually covered by the monthly maintenance charge, while coached or operated facilities such as branded sports academies, personal training or a spa normally carry their own fees. Ask for the split in writing: what maintenance covers, what is charged separately, and what the guest policy is.
What is a good clubhouse size for an apartment project?
Absolute square footage is the wrong measure, because it says nothing about how many people share it. Divide clubhouse area by the number of homes in the project to get a per home figure, and compare that across your shortlist. A large clubhouse in a very large project can give each household less than a smaller one elsewhere.
When is the clubhouse usually delivered in a phased project?
It varies, and that variation is the point. In some projects it is delivered with the first phase as a sales asset, in others it completes late. Ask which phase it belongs to, what that phase's declared completion date is on the RERA registration, and whether a partial occupancy certificate will cover it.
Who maintains the clubhouse after possession?
Usually the developer appoints a facility management company initially, and responsibility later transfers to the residents' association. Ask how long the developer's arrangement runs, what the handover process is, and what reserve fund exists for replacing equipment, because gym and pool equipment has a finite life and replacing it is a real cost.
Should I pay more for a bigger clubhouse?
Only if you will use it. A larger amenity package raises both the price and the monthly maintenance charge, and it usually raises the loading factor too, meaning more of the area you pay for sits outside your flat. Match the amenities to what your household will realistically use each week rather than to what sounds impressive.