The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver requires measurements to be within ±5% of actual. Most tape-measure floor plans miss that threshold in at least one room. Buyers who discover the discrepancy after subjects are removed have grounds to walk. That conversation is not one you want to have.
What RMS actually requires
Residential Measurement Standard (RMS) covers finished, above-grade living space. Finished basements are measured separately and labeled as such. Garage, storage, and utility spaces are excluded. The measurement must include room-by-room breakdowns with the method used and the measuring party identified.
- All above-grade finished space measured room by room
- Ceiling height minimum 6'11" to count as livable space
- Stairwells and voids excluded from total square footage
- Method and measurer must be identified on MLS input
LIDAR vs tape measure: what's the difference in practice
A tape measure requires two people, good lighting, and a steady hand around furniture. A 1,500 sq ft condo takes 45–60 minutes and introduces cumulative error at every room boundary. A LIDAR scanner captures every surface simultaneously by emitting millions of laser pulses per second and calculating distances from the return time.
Our scanner measures every room to ±0.5% accuracy — ten times more precise than the board's ±5% requirement. The output is a 2D floor plan PDF and PNG, plus an RMS-compliant measurement report ready to paste into your MLS input.
Why sellers underestimate this
Sellers often quote the square footage from their tax assessment or a previous MLS listing. Tax assessments use a different methodology and are almost always wrong by 100–200 sq ft in older homes with additions. A previous listing measurement may have been done by the seller's uncle with a tape measure. Neither is defensible when a buyer's lawyer starts asking questions.
What to tell your sellers
Accurate measurements protect them, not just the buyer. Overquoting square footage — even accidentally — can expose the seller to misrepresentation claims. A $129 measurement or the free version included with a shoot is cheap insurance against a deal falling apart over numbers.