Editing Apartment (section)

==Terminology==

The term ''apartment'' is favoured in North America (although in some Canadian cities, ''flat'' is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/apartment|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022203609/https://www.lexico.com/definition/apartment|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2020|title=Apartment {{!}} Meaning of Apartment by Lexico|website=Lexico Dictionaries {{!}} English|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref>). In the UK and Australia, the term ''apartment'' is more usual in professional [[real estate]] and [[architectural]] circles where otherwise the term ''flat'' is used commonly, but not exclusively, for an apartment on a single level (hence a "flat" apartment).

In some countries, the word "[[Unit (housing)|unit]]" is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business [[Suite (address)|suite]]s. The word 'unit' is generally used only in the context of a specific building.

"Mixed-use buildings" combine commercial and residential uses within the same structure. Typically, mixed-use buildings consist of businesses on the lower floors (often retail in street-facing ground floor and supporting subterranean levels) and residential apartments on the upper floors.

===By housing tenure===
[[File:Sham shui po day02.JPG|thumb|[[Low-income housing]] in [[Sham Shui Po District]], [[Hong Kong]]]]
[[Tenement (law)|Tenement law]] refers to the [[feudalism|feudal]] basis of permanent property such as land or rents. It may be found combined as in "[[Messuage]] or Tenement" to encompass all the land, buildings and other assets of a property.

In the United States, some apartment-dwellers own their units, either as a [[housing cooperative]], in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in a [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]], whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older [[house]]s are sometimes divided into apartments. The word ''apartment'' denotes a residential unit or section in a building. In some locations, particularly the United States, the word connotes a rental unit owned by the building owner, and is not typically used for a condominium.

In England and Wales, some flat owners own shares in the company that owns the [[Fee simple|freehold]] of the building as well as holding the flat under a lease.  This arrangement is commonly known as a "share of freehold" flat. The freehold company has the right to collect annual ground rents from each of the flat owners in the building. The freeholder can also develop or sell the building, subject to the usual planning and restrictions that might apply. This situation does not happen in Scotland, where long leasehold of residential property was formerly unusual, and is now impossible.<ref>{{cite web| title=Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012| website=UK Legislation| date=2012| url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/9/contents/enacted | access-date=9 March 2015}}</ref>

===By size of the building===
[[File:English Bay Vancouver.jpg|thumb|right|[[High-rise building]]s in the [[English Bay (Vancouver)|English Bay]] area of [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], Canada]]
Apartment buildings are [[multi-story]] buildings where three or more residences are contained within one structure. Such a building may be called an ''apartment building'', ''apartment complex'', ''flat complex'', ''block of flats'', ''tower block'', ''high-rise'' or, occasionally, ''mansion block'' (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. A high-rise apartment building is commonly referred to as a ''residential tower'', ''apartment tower'', or ''block of flats'' in Australia.

A [[high-rise building]] is defined by its height differently in various [[jurisdiction]]s. It may be only residential, in which case it might also be called a tower block, or it might include other functions such as hotels, offices, or shops. There is no clear difference between a tower block and a [[skyscraper]], although a building with fifty or more stories is generally considered a skyscraper.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/547956/skyscraper|title=skyscraper|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc|access-date=19 September 2012}}</ref> High-rise buildings became possible with the invention of the [[elevator]] (lift) and cheaper, more abundant building materials. Their [[structural system]] usually is made of [[reinforced concrete]] and [[steel]].

A [[low-rise building]] and mid-rise buildings have fewer stories, but the limits are not always clear. [[Emporis]] defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres [115 feet] which is divided into regular floor levels."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://standards.emporis.com/?nav=realestate&lng=3&esn=49213 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710191558/http://standards.emporis.com/?nav=realestate&lng=3&esn=49213 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=10 July 2011 |title=Data Standards: Structures - low-rise building |publisher=Emporis Standards |access-date=10 June 2009}}</ref> The city of [[Toronto]] defines a mid-rise as a building between 4 and 12 stories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.geog.utoronto.ca/Hess/Courses/studio/presentation%20on%20avenues%20and%20mid-rise%20study.pdf |title=Microsoft PowerPoint - 3-Lorna [Compatibility Mode&#93; |date= |accessdate=2022-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816002149/http://faculty.geog.utoronto.ca/Hess/Courses/studio/presentation%20on%20avenues%20and%20mid-rise%20study.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-16 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===By country===
[[File:Lovely old apartments in Yangon (5089875668).jpg|thumb|Apartments in a colonial-era building in [[Yangon]]]]
In [[American English]], the distinction between rental apartments and [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s is that while rental buildings are owned by a single entity and rented out to many, condominiums are owned individually, while their owners still pay a monthly or yearly fee for building upkeep. Condominiums are often leased by their owner as rental apartments. A third alternative, the [[Housing cooperative|cooperative apartment]] building (or "{{lang|en-US|co-op}}"), acts as a corporation with all of the tenants as shareholders of the building. Tenants in cooperative buildings do not own their apartment, but instead own a proportional number of shares of the entire cooperative. As in condominiums, cooperators pay a monthly fee for building upkeep. Co-ops are common in cities such as New York, and have gained some popularity in other larger urban areas in the U.S.

In [[British English]] the usual word is "{{lang|en-GB|flat}}", but ''{{lang|en-GB|apartment}}'' is used by property developers to denote expensive "flats" in exclusive and expensive residential areas in, for example, parts of London such as [[Belgravia]] and [[Hampstead]]. In Scotland, it is called a block of flats or, if it is a traditional sandstone building, a ''{{lang|en-scotland|[[tenement]]}}'', a term which has a negative connotation elsewhere.

In India and South Africa, the words "{{lang|en-IN|flat}}" and "{{lang|en-IN|apartment}}" are interchangeably used to refer to a housing unit in a building. The word "flat" is also used to refer to multi-story dwellings that have lifts.
[[File:Flat at Granville.jpg|thumb|A two-story flat at [[Granville, New South Wales|Granville]]]]
[[Australian English]] and [[New Zealand English]] traditionally used the term ''{{lang|en-AU|flat}}'' (although it also applies to any rental property), and more recently also use the terms ''{{lang|en-AU|unit}}'' or ''{{lang|en-AU|apartment}}''. In Australia, a '{{lang|en-AU|unit}}' refers to flats, apartments or even [[semi-detached]] houses. In Australia, the terms "{{lang|en-AU|unit}}", "{{lang|en-AU|flat}}" and "{{lang|en-AU|apartment}}" are largely used interchangeably. Newer high-rise buildings are more often marketed as "{{lang|en-AU|apartments}}", as the term "{{lang|en-AU|flats}}" carries colloquial connotations. The term condominium or condo is rarely used in Australia despite attempts by developers to market it.

In [[Malaysian English]], ''{{lang|en-MY|flat}}'' often denotes a housing block of two rooms with walk-up, no lift, without facilities, typically five stories tall, and with outdoor parking space,<ref>[https://www.propsocial.my/topic/226/categories-of-homes-in-malaysia-posted-by-propsocial-editor?all=1 Categories of Homes in Malaysia.]</ref> while ''{{lang|en-MY|apartment}}'' is more generic and may also include luxury condominiums.

In Japanese English [[loanword]]s ({{Transliteration|ja|[[Wasei-eigo]]}}), the term ''{{lang|en-JP|apartment}}'' ({{lang|ja|アパート}} {{Transliteration|ja|apaato}}) is used for lower-income housing and ''{{lang|en-JP|mansion}}'' ({{lang|ja|マンション}} {{Transliteration|ja|manshon}}) is used for high-end apartments; but both terms refer to what English-speakers regard as an apartment. This use of the term ''mansion'' has a parallel with [[British English]]'s ''{{lang|en-GB|mansion block}}'', a term denoting prestigious apartment buildings from the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]], which usually feature an ornate facade and large, high-ceilinged flats with period features. {{Transliteration|ja|[[Danchi]]}} is the [[Japanese language|Japanese]] word for a large cluster of apartment buildings of a particular style and design, typically built as [[public housing]] by government authorities. See [[Housing in Japan]].