Condominium and Townhouse are two differentiated terms that are used in the context of property matters. The condominium is an apartment/building or group of buildings where the individual units belong to the owner whereas Townhouse is defined as the conjoined units of similar looking houses that belong to the individual owners.
The important aspect of the difference between the two terms is that of their ownership. In condominium only a part of the building or some unit of it is owned by the owner whereas in Townhouse the entire house belongs to the owner.
Condominium vs Townhouse
The main difference between Condominium and townhouse is that while condominiums are the large buildings where units are owned by the individuals whereas Townhouses are the conjoined houses where the entire house is owned by the individuals.
One should also note that the condominiums require the higher maintenance fees because of their mammoth structure as a society including places of community recreation such as the lawns, pools, playgrounds, etc whereas no such community services are present in the townhouses, therefore, the maintenance fees are lower than that of condominiums.
Comparison Table Between Condominium and Townhouse (in Tabular Form)
| Parameters of Comparison | Condominium | Townhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is a building or group of buildings where only units of it are owned by the individuals. | It is the place with conjoined houses that are individually owned by the owners. |
| Ownership | The condominium is the grand structure where only parts of it are owned by people whereas other places such as parks, etc belong to the homeowners association. | Here conjoined units belong to individual tenants. They are the rows of similar-looking houses but the entire structure of a unit belongs to one owner. |
| Maintenance | The maintenance cost of Condominiums is usually high because of the huge infrastructure and additional services that it provides to residents. | The houses are owned by individual people therefore there are no additional charges so maintenance and therefore the cost is low. |
| Size | Condominiums are the large structures of buildings that contain several single units. | Townhouses consist of similar adjoin houses and the size can vary from big or small. |
| Community Services | Community recreational services such as parks, sports complex, swimming pools are usually part of Condominiums. | Townhouses do not have any kind of recreational community services that form the part of the residential area. |
What is Condominium?
It is the residential complex building or group of buildings that has several units to be owned by the tenants. The Condominium is a huge structure where a large number of families can live together as a society because it has units present above and below each other.
The privacy concern is an important issue while living in condominiums because of continued surveillance and monitoring by the association members. These are usually large because of its infrastructure. The condominiums offer community services such as clubs, golf courses, parks, sports complex, etc which helps in rejuvenation and recreation of people.
There are some advantages to living in condominiums. These are listed as follows:
- The safety of an individual is the major concern of such structures.
- The recreational hubs help in the development and growth of people.
- These kinds of places where the number of families resides together help to develop feelings of belongingness and harmony among individuals.
What is Townhouse?
The townhouse is the structure with conjoined houses or units where each property belongs to the individual tenants. These units are similar to each other but are owned by different people. They can be quite large and at times feature multiple stories. These kinds of structures help to retain the privacy of individuals by providing the individual space for each family to reside in. townhouses share one or two walls with the neighboring units but do not have the units above or below them.
Community services for recreation are not usually present in the townhouses but there are certain other advantages of living in townhouses. These are mentioned as follows:
- The privacy of individuals living in townhouses remains intact because there is no operated surveillance on people residing there.
- The maintenance cost of townhouses is low because they are not so grand in structure.
Conclusion
Condominium and Townhouse are two terms to refer to the different forms of property. The former is the building or group of buildings where different units are owned by individuals whereas the latter term refers to the conjoined houses that are entirely owned by different individuals.
Condominiums have larger structures whereas townhouses might or might not have huge structures because they are owned by individual tenants. A large number of families live together in condominiums that ensure community harmony.
Recreational spaces are the major distinguishable aspects between condominiums and townhouses. Spaces like clubs, swimming pools, parks, etc form part of condominiums but they are not present in the townhouses.
References
- https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=jssw
- https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/831/831/items/1.0094896