Editing Condominium (section)

=== United States ===
The first condominium law passed in the United States was in the [[Puerto Rico|Commonwealth of Puerto Rico]] in 1958.<ref>Poliakoff, G: ''Law of Condominium Operations'', §1.2. 2009.</ref><ref name=IR159 /> In 1960, the first condominium in the continental U.S. was built in [[Salt Lake City]], Utah. The legal concept had spread to the U.S. from Europe via the Caribbean (Puerto Rico and Cuba) but throughout the 1960s it was widely and erroneously reported that the concept had arisen in the U.S. directly based on a Roman model. In fact, the concept of an estate in the air was antithetical to Roman law, and there is no evidence of an ancient Roman ''condominio''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Natelson|first1=Robert|title=Comments on the Historiography of Condominium: The Myth of Roman Origin|journal=City of Oklahoma Law Review|date=1987|volume=12|issue=1|url=http://constitution.i2i.org/files/2010/09/Comments-on-the-Historiography-of-Condominium-The-Myth-of-Roman-Origin.pdf|access-date=12 Feb 2014}}</ref>

[[Image:400SGreenLoft.jpg|thumb|The interior of a [[loft]] condominium in [[Chicago]]'s west side, US]]

Section 234 of the Housing Act of 1961 allowed the [[Federal Housing Administration]] to insure mortgages on condominiums, leading to a vast increase in the funds available for condominiums, and to condominium laws in every state by 1969.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kerr|first1=William|title=Condominium - Statutory Implementation|journal=St. John's Law Review|date=2013|volume=38|issue=1|url=http://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4266&context=lawreview|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> Since then, the term 'condominium', or 'condo' for short, has become a household word in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=140}}</ref> Many Americans' first widespread awareness of condominium life came not from its largest cities but from [[South Florida]], where developers had imported the condominium concept from [[Puerto Rico]] and used it to sell thousands of inexpensive homes to retirees arriving flush with cash from the urban northern U.S.<ref name=IR159>{{cite web|title=Information Report No. 159|url=https://www.planning.org/pas/at60/pdf/report159.pdf|publisher=American Society of Planning Officials|access-date=27 July 2014|date=June 1962|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909234758/https://www.planning.org/pas/at60/pdf/report159.pdf|archive-date=9 September 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The primary attraction to this type of ownership is the ability to obtain affordable housing in a highly desirable area that typically is beyond economic reach. Additionally, such properties benefit from having restrictions that maintain and enhance value, providing control over blight that plagues some neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Carter|first1=Charles|last2=Marcus|first2=Allen|title=Pets, Politics, and Condominium Prices|url=http://www.petsincondos.org/PetsAndCondoPrices.pdf|access-date=27 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727115523/http://www.petsincondos.org/PetsAndCondoPrices.pdf|archive-date=27 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Over the past several decades, the residential condominium industry has been booming in some metropolitan areas, such as [[Miami]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[Boston]], [[Chicago]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Los Angeles]], and [[New York City]].  However, in recent years, supply within the condo industry has caught up with demand, and sales have slowed.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Clarke|first1=Katherine|title=Sales slow at high-end condos as pricey pads grow plentiful around city|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/occupy-w-57th-st-article-1.1827613|access-date=27 July 2014|work=New York Daily News|date=13 June 2014}}</ref> It is now in a slowdown phase.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reality Check: US Home Resales Firm Feb Vs Jan, Drop y/y|url=http://imarketnews.com/?q=node/27899|work=iMarketNews}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

An alternative form of ownership, popular in parts of the U.S. but found also in other [[common law]] jurisdictions, is [[housing cooperative]], also known as "company share" or "co-op". A Housing Cooperative is where the building has an associated legal [[corporation|company]] and ownership of shares gives the right to a [[lease]] for the residence of a unit.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cheung|first1=Maria|title=The Art of Wooing a Co-op/Condo Board|date=6 May 2014|url=http://www.pulversthompson.com/real-estate-blog/art-wooing-co-opcondo-board/|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> Another form is [[ground rent]] (''solarium'') in which a single landlord retains ownership of the land (''solum'') but leases the surface rights (''superficies'') which renew in perpetuity or over a very long term.<ref>{{cite web|title=Understanding Ground Rent in Maryland|url=http://www.peoples-law.org/understanding-ground-rent-maryland|website=The People's Law Library of Maryland|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

In the U.S., there are several different styles of condominium complexes. For example, a garden condominium complex consists of low-rise buildings built with landscaped grounds surrounding them. A [[townhouse]] condominium complex consists of multi-floor semi-detached homes. In condominium townhouses, the purchaser owns only the interior, while the building itself is owned by a condominium corporation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Condominium vs. Townhouse|url=http://realvaluations.com/CONDOMINIUM%20VS.%20TOWNHOUSE-.pdf|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> The corporation is jointly owned by all the owners and charges them fees for general maintenance and major repairs. [[Freehold (law)|Freehold]] townhouses are exclusively owned, without any condominium aspects. In the U.S., this type of ownership is called [[fee simple]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bruce|first1=John|title=Review of Tenure Terminology|url=http://www.minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/22013/73_tb1.pdf|website=University of Wisconsin|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Image:WilshireRegent.jpg|The [[Wilshire Regent]] condominiums in [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
Image:aqualbview.jpg|Aqua waterfront condominiums in [[Long Beach, California]], U.S.
Image:1224DearbornChicago.jpg|A historic mansion converted into condominiums in [[Chicago]], U.S.
Image:Endeavour Luxury Condominiums on Clear Lake.jpg|Endeavour Luxury Condominiums on Clear Lake, near Galveston Bay
</gallery>

New York's Condominium Act was passed in 1964. The first condominium building was the St. Tropez Condominium in [[Manhattan]], built in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.habitatmag.com/tags/view/geotags/New+York+City/Manhattan/Upper+East+Side/St.+Tropez+Condominium/340+E.+64th+Street|title=340 E. 64th Street - Habitat Magazine|website=www.habitatmag.com}}</ref>