Anyone who spends time on the real estate market will stumble across a wide variety of terms. While some are accessible and familiar from everyday life, others have never been encountered before. What’s more, there are often synonyms. Today we are talking about condominiums vs. residential property. Do the two words possibly have the same meaning or are there differences that need to be considered?
What does condominium ownership mean?
According to the legal definition, condominium ownership is the special ownership that an owner has of an apartment. The apartment is located within a homeowners’ association. In this context, special ownership means that the owner may do with their apartment as they wish. However, there is always a limit where the interests of the condominium owner meet the interests of the other condominium owners in the community.
The German Condominium Act (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz – WEG) explains how a condominium owners’ association is formed, what obligations and rights the individual condominium owners have and how the key terms relating to condominium ownership are defined.
Is a condominium also a residential property?
The terms condominium vs. home ownership are often used as synonyms in everyday life. However, this is not entirely true. A condominium is part of residential property. When you buy an apartment, it does not become the property of the owner. From a factual point of view, it does, because the owner can dispose of the condominium as long as it does not interfere with the interests of other owners. From a legal point of view, however, you are merely buying a share in a house or a plot of land. You have a right of disposal and use. From a legal point of view, the entire residential building belongs to all condominium owners jointly. Therefore, a distinction must be made between separate ownership, partial ownership and common ownership when buying a condominium.
Condominium ownership is created through the division of a large residential building or property. This can be done by means of a declaration of division or a division agreement.
Anyone who buys a condominium pays for the individual ownership of the apartment. In addition, there is the co-ownership share that you acquire in the common property. Both together form the condominium.
