Common Area

A Common Area is a publicly accessible area that is available for use by more than one person, typically within a real estate development or building complex.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be found within real estate developments or building complexes such as apartments, gated communities, condominiums, cooperatives, and shopping malls.
  • It can (often) include areas like building lobbies, hallways, parks, playgrounds, and meeting rooms.
  • It can (typically) be managed and maintained by an owners' association or a similar managing entity, which charges each tenant for its maintenance and upkeep.
  • It can (often) be distinguished from private areas which are exclusively used by individual tenants or owners.
  • It can serve various functions, including providing access to facilities, offering recreational spaces, or serving as a means for emergency egress.
  • It is (often) collectively owned by all tenants or owners in the development, meaning that no single individual possesses more control over these areas than any other owner.
  • It differs from a Common Land as used in English law, which is owned by one person but may be used by a group of persons.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • an Apartment Building Lobby.
  • The playground within a gated community.
  • The parking lot of a condominium complex.
  • The food court in a shopping mall.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • A private residential backyard.
  • An individual's apartment or condo unit.
  • A leased commercial office space.
• See: Real Property Law, Building Lobby, Shopping Mall, Common Land, Common Area Maintenance (CAM) Charge.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/common_area Retrieved:2024-3-26.
  • A common area is, in real estate or real property law, the "area which is available for use by more than one person..." The common areas are those that are available for common use by all tenants, (or) groups of tenants and their invitees. In Texas and other parts of the United States, it is "An area inside a housing development owned by all residents or by an overall management structure which charges each tenant for maintenance and upkeep." Common areas often exist in apartments, gated communities, condominiums, cooperatives, and shopping malls. In any situation where there is a tenancy in common, all the tenants in common collectively own the common areas, meaning that any one individual owner does not possess more control over the land than any other owner.

    This differs from a commons or common land, as used in English law, which is owned by one person, but which may be used by a group of persons.

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