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Condominiums are a means of dividing property into parts that are individually owned and parts that are owned in common. Owners can sell their units (along with their share of the common property); the corporation can enforce the obligations of owners to each other and to the corporation; and the property taxes and mortgage, as well as a proportional share of common expenses, for each unit is the responsibility of the owner of the unit.
Every condominium corporation is governed by legislation—in Ontario its’ the Condominium Act, 1998. Each unit in a condominium is an independent legal entity and the owner has all the rights and responsibilities as the owner of a freehold property with a detached building.
A condominium corporation is established through registration of a declaration and deion at the land registry office for the area in which the property lies. The declaration, which is the “constitution” of the corporation, includes details such as the proportional share assigned to each unit, uit boundaries, and restrictions on occupation and use. The deion is a series of drawings indicating the unit boundaries, the boundaries of the common elements, the boundaries of the exclusive use common elements, and the locations of the units and the common elements in relation to each other.
Condominiums are intended to provide all the advantages of communal living and to eliminate the disadvantages of membership in an equity cooperative. Condominiums do, in fact, achieve these ends, but they do not offer the inexpensive opportunity to own one’s own home.
Although the sharing of land probably does reduce the cost of purchasing, the condominium lifestyle is actually an expensive lifestyle. Owners operate and maintain equipment that is not normally a homeowner’s responsibility (elevators, roads, and sewers), and they pay someone else to undertake maintenance that the average householder does himself (grass cutting, minor repairs, and cleaning), as well as someone to oversee the entire operation (a property manager).
注：本系列英语日志是想与喜爱英语的国内同行分享。
(责任编辑：现代物业) |
