Definition of a Condominium from Wikipedia

A condominium, or condo for short, is a form of housing tenure. It is the legal term used in the USA and in most provinces of 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 and the Canadian province of British Columbia, 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 unit owners in the building. It is possible, however, for condominiums to consist of single family dwellings: so-called "detached condominiums" where homeowners do not maintain the exteriors of the dwellings, yards, etc. or "site condominiums" where the owner has more control over the exterior appearance. These structures are preferred by some planned neighborhoods and gated communities.

A homeowners association, consisting of all the members, manages 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.

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