Apart from the basic terms, there are many other terms that are regularly used in an apartment association. Knowing these terms can aid you in comfortably becoming a member of an association yourself, where you’ll find that your knowledge on these terms is useful. This is the second part in the series of articles. The first part can be found here: Apartment Association Terms Explained – Part One

Apartment Association Terms – Common Areas & Common Facilities:

Members of any apartment association frequently talk about common areas and common facilities. The primary question that runs through every single initiate’s mind is – what exactly are these areas, and how are they shared?

Common areas in an apartment primarily include the land in which the entire complex is built in.

• Physical entities like the columns of the building, the foundations of all buildings in the complex, the many girders that run through the structure, the beams used for support; other physical structures used for support are also a part of the mentioned common areas for residents.
• Other places like the roofs of all buildings, the corridors in each building, the halls that the complex has, staircases, lobbies, the main entrance of each building and the exit of each building all together make up the common areas in an apartment complex, according to the apartment association.
• Even the cellars in the buildings in an apartment complex and the vast gardens and parking areas can be effectively classified as common areas in the complex. The list includes basements and storage spaces too.
• Many facilities provided in an apartment complex for the benefit of the residents also fall under common facilities or common benefits. All apparatus used in an apartment complex, like motors, water pumps, compressors, fans, ducts, storage tanks and even elevators fall under the general umbrella of common facilities. The facilities that can be termed as common will be fully mentioned in the Declaration.
• Any commercial facilities that may be provided in the apartment complex need to be mentioned in the Declaration, for them to be recognized as proper common facilities.
• Public installations that provide the entire apartment complex with services like heating, lighting, air conditioning, cold water, hot water, power and refrigeration can also be termed as common facilities.

Apartment Association Terms – Common Expenses & Common Profits:

The term ‘common expenses’, although clear through its usage, can apply to a lot of things.

• The common expenses of the apartment association (as per the bye laws specified by the Government) fall under the umbrella term of ‘common expenses’.
• All expenses that are shared by members of the apartment association are terms, or the maintenance and steady upkeep of all common areas, are termed as common expenses too. All common expenses will be explicitly mentioned in the bye laws and these just have to be followed per se.
• After the maintenance work and upkeep in a complex is done, if any amount from the original amount collected from all residents remains, it is termed as a ‘common profit’. Such profits will be shared among all members of an apartment association.

These are the many terms that you should be aware of, pertaining to shared areas and common facilities in an apartment association.

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This article aims at collating and providing information for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use it only as a guidance for further discussion and action with help of relevant professionals. If you need professional advise on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. You may post your questions/inputs in the Comments section below and we will try and get them answered through relevant subject matter experts.