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An '''apartment''' ([[North American English]]), '''flat''' ([[British English]], [[Indian English]], [[South African English]]){{efn|In North America, "flat" may sometimes be used for an apartment that occupies the entirety of a building floor or [[storey]]}}, or '''unit''' ([[Australian English]]) is a self-contained [[housing unit]] (a type of residential [[real estate]]) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single storey. There are many names for these overall buildings (see below). The [[housing tenure]] of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale [[public housing]], to [[owner occupancy]] within what is legally a [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]] ([[strata title]] or [[commonhold]]), to tenants renting from a private landlord (see [[leasehold estate]]).
==Terminology==
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===By country===
[[File:Lovely old apartments in Yangon (5089875668).jpg|thumb|Apartments in a colonial-era building in [[Yangon]]]]
In [[American English]], the distinction between rental apartments and [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s is that while rental buildings are owned by a single entity and rented out to many, condominiums are owned individually, while their owners still pay a monthly or yearly fee for building upkeep. Condominiums are often leased by their owner as rental apartments. A third alternative, the [[Housing cooperative|cooperative apartment]] building (or "{{lang|en-US|co-op}}"), acts as a corporation with all of the tenants as shareholders of the building. Tenants in cooperative buildings do not own their apartment, but instead own a proportional number of shares of the entire cooperative. As in condominiums, cooperators pay a monthly fee for building upkeep. Co-ops are common in cities such as New York, and have gained some popularity in other larger urban areas in the U.S.
In [[British English]] the usual word is "{{lang|en-GB|flat}}", but ''{{lang|en-GB|apartment}}'' is used by property developers to denote expensive "flats" in exclusive and expensive residential areas in, for example, parts of London such as [[Belgravia]] and [[Hampstead]]. In Scotland, it is called a block of flats or, if it is a traditional sandstone building, a ''{{lang|en-scotland|[[tenement]]}}'', a term which has a negative connotation elsewhere.
In India, the word "{{lang|en-IN|flat}}" is used to refer to multi-storey dwellings that have lifts.
[[Australian English]] and [[New Zealand English]] traditionally used the term ''{{lang|en-AU|flat}}'' (although it also applies to any rental property), and more recently also use the terms ''{{lang|en-AU|unit}}'' or ''{{lang|en-AU|apartment}}''. In Australia, a '{{lang|en-AU|unit}}' refers to flats, apartments or even [[semi-detached]] houses. In Australia, the terms "{{lang|en-AU|unit}}", "{{lang|en-AU|flat}}" and "{{lang|en-AU|apartment}}" are largely used interchangeably. Newer high-rise buildings are more often marketed as "{{lang|en-AU|apartments}}", as the term "{{lang|en-AU|flats}}" carries colloquial connotations. The term condominium or condo is rarely used in Australia despite attempts by developers to market it.
In [[Malaysian English]], ''{{lang|en-MY|flat}}'' often denotes a housing block of two rooms with walk-up, no lift, without facilities, typically five storeys tall, and with outdoor parking space,<ref>[https://www.propsocial.my/topic/226/categories-of-homes-in-malaysia-posted-by-propsocial-editor?all=1 Categories of Homes in Malaysia.]</ref> while ''{{lang|en-MY|apartment}}'' is more generic and may also include luxury condominiums.
In Japanese English [[loanword]]s (
==Types and characteristics==
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==Current examples==
===England===
In London, by the time of the 2011 census, 52 per cent of all homes were flats.<ref>
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the concept of the flat was slow to catch on amongst the British middle classes, which generally followed the north European standard of single-family houses dating far back into history. Those who lived in flats were assumed to be lower class and somewhat itinerant, renting for example a "flat above a shop" as part of a lease agreement for a tradesman. In London and most of Britain, everyone who could afford to do so occupied an entire house—even if this was a small [[terraced house]]—while the working poor continued to rent rooms in often overcrowded properties, with one (or more) families per room.
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In [[Scotland]], the term "[[tenement]]" lacks the pejorative connotations it carries elsewhere and refers simply to any block of flats sharing a common central staircase and lacking an elevator, particularly those constructed before 1919. Tenements were, and continue to be, inhabited by a wide range of social classes and income groups. Tenements today are bought by a wide range of social types, including young professionals, older [[retirees]], and by [[absentee landlords]], often for rental to students after they leave [[dorm|halls of residence]] managed by their institution. The [[National Trust for Scotland]] [[Tenement House (Glasgow)]] is a [[historic house museum]] offering an insight into the lifestyle of tenement dwellers, as it was generations ago.
During the 19th century, tenements became the predominant type of new housing in [[Scotland]]'s industrial cities, although they were very common in the [[Old Town, Edinburgh|Old Town]] in Edinburgh from the 15th century, where they reached ten or eleven storeys and in one case fourteen storeys. Built of [[sandstone]] or [[granite]], Scottish tenements are usually three to five storeys in height, with two to four flats on each floor. (In contrast, industrial cities in England tended to favour "[[Back-to-back houses|back-to-back]]" [[terraced house|terrace]]s of [[brick]].) Scottish tenements are constructed in terraces, and each entrance within a block is referred to as a ''close'' or ''stair''—both referring to the shared passageway to the individual flats. Flights of stairs and landings are generally designated common areas, and residents traditionally took turns to sweep clean the floors and, in [[Aberdeen]] in particular, took turns to make use of shared laundry facilities in the "back green" (garden or yard). It is now more common for cleaning of the common ways to be contracted out through a managing agent or "factor".
In [[Glasgow]], where Scotland's highest concentration of tenement dwellings can be found, the urban renewal projects of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s brought an end to the city's slums, which had primarily consisted of older tenements built in the early 19th century in which large [[extended families]] would live together in cramped conditions. They were replaced by high-rise blocks that, within a couple of decades, became notorious for crime and poverty. The [[Glasgow Corporation]] made many efforts to improve the situation, most successfully with the City Improvement Trust, which cleared the slums of the old town, replacing them with what they thought of as a traditional high street, which remains an imposing townscape. (The City Halls and the [[Cleland Testimonial]] were part of this scheme.) National government help was given following [[World War I]] when Housing Acts sought to provide "homes fit for heroes". Garden suburb areas, based on English models, such as [[Knightswood]], were set up. These proved too expensive, so a modern tenement, three stories high, slate roofed and built of reconstituted stone, was re-introduced and a [[slum clearance]] programme initiated to clear areas such as the [[Calton, Glasgow|Calton]] and the [[Garngad]].
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After [[Second World War|World War II]], more ambitious plans, known as the [[Bruce Plan]], were made for the complete evacuation of slums for modern mid-rise housing developments on the outskirts of the city. However, the central government refused to fund the plans, preferring instead to depopulate the city to a series of [[New towns in the United Kingdom|New Towns.]]<ref name="autogenerated2">Williamson, E., Riches, A. & Higgs, M. ''The Buildings of Scotland: Glasgow''. London: Penguin Books, 1990 {{ISBN|0-14-071069-8}}</ref><ref>[http://www.scotcities.com/cathcart/houses.htm Houses and Mansions: Domestic Architecture of Glasgow's South Side] 2008-06-03</ref> Again, economic considerations meant that many of the planned "New Town" amenities were never built in these areas. These housing estates, known as "schemes", came therefore to be widely regarded as unsuccessful; many, such as [[Castlemilk]], were just dormitories well away from the centre of the city with no amenities, such as shops and [[public houses]] ("deserts with windows", as [[Billy Connolly]] once put it). High-rise living too started off with bright ambition—the Moss Heights, built in the 1950s, are still desirable—but fell prey to later economic pressure. Many of the later tower blocks were poorly designed and cheaply built and their anonymity caused some social problems. The demolition of the tower blocks in order to build modern housing schemes has in some cases led to a re-interpretations of the tenement.
In 1970, a team from [[Strathclyde University]] demonstrated that the old tenements had been basically sound, and could be given new life with replumbing providing modern kitchens and bathrooms.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> The Corporation acted on this principle for the first time in 1973 at the ''Old Swan Corner'', [[Pollokshaws]]. Thereafter, ''Housing Action Areas'' were set up to renovate so-called slums. Later, privately owned tenements benefited from government help in "stone cleaning", revealing a honey-coloured sandstone behind the presumed "grey" tenemental facades. The policy of tenement demolition is now considered to have been short-sighted, wasteful and largely unsuccessful. Many of Glasgow's worst tenements were refurbished into desirable accommodation in the 1970s and 1980s<ref>[http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/springburn/spring066.htm Glasgow Digital Library: Demolition of tenements in Gourlay Street, 1975]</ref> and the policy of demolition is considered to have destroyed fine examples of a "universally admired architectural" style.<!-- <ref name="autogenerated1" /> --> The [[Glasgow Housing Association]] took ownership of the public housing stock from the city council on 7 March 2003, and has begun a £96 million clearance and demolition programme to clear and demolish many of the high-rise flats.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090105180936/http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/Archives/2006/May/housingrevolutionannounced.htm Glasgow announces a revolution in house-building] Wednesday 31 May 2006.</ref>
===United States===
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=== South Korea ===
{{See also|Housing in South Korea}}
As of 2019, a majority of Koreans live in apartments.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:인구총조사 {{!}} 통계청 |trans-title=the census {{!}} National Statistical Office |url=https://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/2/2/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=384690&pageNo=&rowNum=10&amSeq=&sTarget=&sTxt= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518110359/https://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/2/2/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=384690&pageNo=&rowNum=10&amSeq=&sTarget=&sTxt= |archive-date=2021-05-18 |access-date=2022-11-25 |publisher=kostat.go.kr}}</ref> Since the 1980s, the number of apartment residents has soared, and as the number of apartments has steadily increased, apartments have become a representative form of residence where more than half of the Korean population resides.
It is the most common house in small and medium-sized cities in Korea, and even these days, apartments are quite visible in rural areas such as remote areas. This is because small and medium-sized construction companies have technology, but they lack the capital to build large complexes in large cities. The better the location, the more expensive the apartment is, and the more expensive the apartment complex built by a large construction company<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-28 |script-title=ko:[2021아파트브랜드대상] 브랜드의 차이가 집값을 가른다 |trans-title=The difference in the brand determines the price of the house |url=https://www.asiae.co.kr/article/2021052811311363140 |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=아시아경제 |language=ko}}</ref> and with a large number of households. Also, even the same type of flat in the same complex is not all of the same price. Due to problems such as the right to sunlight and prospects, the low-rise households on the first and third floors are generally the cheapest, and the higher they go, the more expensive they become.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-27 |script-title=ko:같은 동·같은 평형인데…1층부터 9층까지 분양가 다 다르네 |trans-title=It's the same equilibrium, but...From the 1st to the 9th floors, the prices are all different |url=https://www.hankyung.com/realestate/article/2016042785871 |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=한경닷컴 |language=ko}}</ref> In addition, the price varies depending on other conditions such as the viewing area and the direction of the house, such as south, east, west, and north. The upper floors with a south-facing view are the most expensive. Apartment sales and lease prices are actually the largest and most stable assets owned by a middle-class family in Korea, symbolizing the social status of a family, which forms a class and determines life satisfaction. For this reason, the Korean people have no choice but to react very sensitively to apartment prices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-25 |script-title=ko:[경제신문은 내친구] 한국은 왜 아파트공화국이 됐나요 |trans-title=Why did Korea become an apartment republic? |url=https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/5247363 |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=매일경제 |language=ko}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:South Korea, Incheon, Songdo (03), Sharp Prime View appartments.jpg|An apartment in [[Songdo International City]], [[Incheon]]
File:Hillstateriverpark.jpg|An apartment in [[Gwangsan-gu]], [[Gwangju]]
File:Puffy cloud behind two apartments.JPG|Cloud behind two apartments
</gallery>
==Notes==
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