This article refers to a form of housing. For information on the international law describing a territory in which two sovereign powers have equal rights, please see condominium (international law).
A condominium is a form of housing tenure. It is the legal term used in the USA and Canada for a type of joint ownership of real property in which portions of the property are commonly owned and other portions are individually owned. In Australia, the legal term for this is known as strata title. Often, it consists of units in a multi-unit dwelling (i.e., an apartment or a development) where the unit is individually owned and the common areas like hallways and recreational facilities are jointly owned by all the other unit owners in the building. It is possible, however, for condominiums to consist of single family dwellings. An association consisting of all the members manage the common areas usually through a board of directors elected by the members. The same concept is also used in other countries with different names, such as "unit title", "commonhold" or tenant-owner's association. Another variation of this concept is the "time share". Condominiums may be found in both civil law and common law legal systems as it is purely a creation of statute.
An alternative form of ownership popular in the United States in common law jurisdictions is the "cooperative" corporation, also known as "company share", in which the building has an associated legal company and ownership of shares gives the right to a lease for residence of a unit. Another form is leasehold or ground rent in which a single landlord retains ownership of the land on which the building is constructed in which the lease renews in perpetuity or over a very long term such as in a civil law emphyteutic lease. Another form of civil law joint property ownership is undivided co-ownership where the owners own a percentage of the entire property but have exclusive possession of a specific part of the property and joint possession of other parts of the property; distinguished from joint tenancy with right of survivorship or a tenancy in common of common law.
Condo owners share ownership of the common areas with other owners, while common areas in townhouse developments are usually owned by the homeowners' association for the benefit and use of unit owners.
For condos created on or after October 1, 1986, the developer is required to file a plat or plan showing any improvements (swimming pools, tennis courts, club house, etc.) which are planned.
In all condo and townhouse projects, the "common areas" of the property (open spaces, recreation areas, tennis courts, etc.) must be managed and maintained for the benefit of unit owners.
The overall downtown condo market peaked in 2004, with 4,670 sales; the number of units sold is expected to be about 19 percent less in 2006 when final numbers are tallied.
The developer of FolioBoston, a condo project in the Financial District, decided to quickly auction off his remaining, unsold condos on a Saturday afternoon in October, rather than risk slogging sales in an uncertain market.
And wealthy buyers are discerning, shunning condo projects that lack parking or preferring large, one-floor units in new buildings to large condos spread over three- or four-story brownstones that require them to walk up and down the stairs of historic buildings.
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