Determining The Difference Of Apartments And Condominiums

Condominiums and apartments are some of the most popular types of housing around the world. Part of what made these popular is with its luxury as well as its affordability (for apartments). Many have even said that apartments and condominiums are similar with each other in terms of physical form. The only way to distinguish apartments from condominiums is from its type of ownership. This is where housing tenure is used.

Determining ownership
Condominiums, in some terms, are considered as a type of apartment. This is because apartments and condominiums are both types of multi-unit dwellings in which each unit in an apartment building or condominium building is occupied individually. According to a number of philippine real estate experts, apartments and condominiums are so alike that a building to be used as a condominium can also be turned as an apartment. The difference is with its housing tenure.

What is housing tenure?
Housing tenure is a term used heavily in residential real estate which is used to refer to the financial arrangements under which someone has the right to live in a house or apartment. The most frequent forms are tenancy, in which rent is paid to a landlord, and owner occupancy. Apartments usually fall behind tenancy while condominiums are categorized as a modified form of owner occupancy. Condominiums are best described as a type of commonhold and strata title.

Why not owner occupancy
The reason why condominiums are not entirely a type of owner occupancy, even though residents of a condo unit owns the unit, is because owning a condominium doesn't necessary make one the owner of it entirely. According to many philippine real estate experts, owner occupancy gives occupants the right to modify the building and land as they please while condominiums may only have the right to live (as well as modify their interior of their units) but common areas (e.g. hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas) are controlled by the homeowners' association.

Other than that, condominium residents are also obligated to pay fees which which are usually used to maintain the livability of their condominiums as well as with their safety by hiring securing personnel. According to many philippine real estate, these part of ownership are normally not included in owning a typical house.
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