Community Apartment Project

A community apartment project is one of the four types of common interest developments recognized under California Civil Code Section 4105. In a community apartment project, each owner holds an undivided tenancy-in-common interest in the entire property — land, buildings, and all improvements — coupled with an exclusive right of occupancy to a specific apartment or unit. Unlike a condominium where ownership is defined by airspace boundaries in a recorded condominium plan, a community apartment project owner does not hold title to a discrete unit; instead, they own a percentage interest in the whole property and have the contractual right to occupy a designated space. This ownership structure was more common before California adopted modern condominium statutes and is relatively rare today. Most community apartment projects that still exist were created in the 1960s and 1970s, and some have since converted to condominium form through a formal conversion process that requires recording a condominium plan. Despite their rarity, community apartment projects are fully governed by the Davis-Stirling Act and must comply with all the same requirements for elections, open meetings, financial disclosures, reserve studies, and dispute resolution as condominiums and planned developments. The tenancy-in-common ownership structure can create complications for financing, since lenders may be less familiar with this form and may require specialized loan products. Title insurance and estate planning can also be more complex due to the undivided interest structure.