Talk:Apartment/Archive 1

maisonette

Is it okay to create a separate page for maisonette? They are a distinct type of dwelling, looking like houses but actually being apartments. This Apartment page suffers from trying to do too much - it'd make sense to have separate pages for the main variants. We have the daft situation at the moment that there is a separate page for "Tyneside flat", which is a type of maisonette, but no page for maisonette itself. Dadge (talk) 12:35, 18 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Flat

'Flat' is a working class designation? Not in all the Commonwealth; where I lived 'flat' simply meant 'apartment', no matter how modest or luxurious. Quill 20:39, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)

In my experience in the UK 'flat' is the most widely used term irrespective of social class. Purpose built luxury apartments from the ninetweenth and twentieth century were and are still widely called "mansion flats". "Penthouse flat" would be an oxymoron if flat indicated low social class. I believe that the term apartment was, until recently, largely confined to a dwelling created within a larger household: for example, 'state apartments' within palaces. TheoClarke Theo 20:27, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

In New Zealand 'flat' refers to a rentable house, i.e. renting the entire building. [1] for example. Is there an existing article about this type of residence, or should 'flat' in New Zealand articles redirect to house?

Anecdotally I'd say upmarket new builds in the UK may be marketed 'luxury apartments' rather than 'flats'. More syllables being classier on a billboard, or something. On the other hand the term 'holiday apartments' is used for (usually) cheap and temporary holiday rents, while 'flat' would be your domicile, whether posh or downmarket. Hakluyt bean (talk) 12:07, 1 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

US usage

In my experience (limited to the U.S.), the word "apartment" is never used (outside of legal jargon) to refer to property which is owned rather than rented. Certainly I would never call my condo an "apartment". There's also a strong implication to "apartment" of having only a single level (presumably the origin on British "flat" as well); a multi-level rental dwelling would typically be called by the appropriate name for the type of structure; e.g., rowhouse, triple-decker, townhouse, or just plain house. (I live in a townhouse condominium myself.) 18.26.0.18 02:44, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This may be regional. In Seattle, "condominum apartment" is definitely used, if a bit uncommon. - Jmabel | Talk 01:53, 4 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I notice the term 'flat' is used in the U.S. It surprises me when I come across it and may surprise readers of the article: "26 units of townhomes, flats and loft condominiums" www.indystar.com . Hakluyt bean (talk) 11:58, 1 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In New York City, single-level units are usually referred to as apartments, whether rented or co-operatively owned. (Co-ops are more common than condos in New York City, because of advantages in local laws.) Perhaps this is because many if not most co-ops were converted from rental units. This is certainly true for the thousands of garden apartments in Queens. Bingoeleven (talk) 08:01, 17 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"Apartment Rental" section??

Previously, there was a "Guidelines for renters" section in this article discussing apartment rental from a prospective tenant's point of view. This type of section was removed twice because it was not written in an encyclopedic style but written as more of an advice article or column which may be appropriate for certain types of magazines. I agree that the former section should have been written in a more encyclopedic style, but there should be an article or part of an article somewhere in Wikipedia covering the subject of "apartment rental." Although I found more general article(s) in Wikipedia about "Leasing" all kinds of things in general, written especially from a legal point of view, I have not found an appropriate article on "Apartment Rental" especially from a practical point of view. Does anyone know of such an article or part of an article in Wikipedia ? If there isn't such a thing in Wikipedia, maybe a practical "Apartment Rental" section can be added to this article. H Padleckas 06:51, 25 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Studio apartment

I strongly disagree with combining these two articles. Wikipedia is not an American encyclopedia. In Australia you almost never here the word apartment, but you do here Studio Apartment. A Studio Apartment is not a flat, it is a highly distinct (at least in Australian usage) style of dwelling. At the very least there should have been a Merge tag and time for discussion. Alex Law 15:38, 11 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well that clarifies it! A stuido apartment in australia is a highly distinct style of dwelling. But seriously, would you care to elaborate in the least little bit? Cause the old Studio apartment page only mentions it in passing: "In Australia, however, the term is growing in popularity, especially for recently constructed up-market dwellings in inner-city areas." Is this maybe just another name for a terraced house or a loft or a penthouse apartment or a flak tower or ??? At least give us a URL where we could see one of these "highly distinct style of dwellings"? Ewlyahoocom 17:19, 11 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is there state-specific apartment information?

Im looking for unit-mix numbers on florida apartments, i was wondering if that information is not covered in wikipedia, maybe someone knows where to find it —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Theu12 (talk • contribs) .

Buildings vs. complexes

This article focuses on apartment buildings and totally ignores apartment complexes, which are common at least where I live (suburban SoCal). I think it should talk about these as well. -Branddobbe 21:39, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, it also doesn't mention basement suites (ubiquitous here in Western Canada). I'm going to add a short paragraph on them.

Garden apartment

This article needs to explain what a garden apartment is. I redirected the term here, but it's npt mentioned as of right now. Aaron Bowen 00:54, 8 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I did my best to define, but lack a citation. - Jmabel | Talk 01:52, 4 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In an urban area, "Garden Apartment" translates into "basement with windows at lawn/garden level". You can ask any reputable apartment finding/leasing service in any urban area. I never ever heard it in the context of "1-story apartment with landscaping" until today. :-) Here is one reference: http://www.uhr.com/hrc/DePaul/housing/NewsTerms.asp?ut=UClass&ui=123&pv=3&b=n&gu=1&us=GUEST100&r=71 There's not even an implication that you'll get to see an actual garden, much less have any choice in arrangement thereof. :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.193.36.91 (talk) 04:01, 30 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

New York City, especially Queens, has thousands of garden apartments, in many complexes. See, for example, Glen Oaks Village. These match Merriam-Webster's definition of garden apartment, which is "a multiple-unit low-rise dwelling having considerable lawn or garden space". This is close to the previous Wikipedia definition, except that that definition said garden apartment buildings are only one story, while in Queens most garden apartment buildings are two stories, with each stacked pair of apartments sharing one building entrance. I've also encountered apartment complexes in Massachusetts and Florida with three-story buildings called garden apartments. The original United States "garden apartments", in Jackson Heights, Queens, were actually five stories high. However, today 4–7 story buildings almost always have elevators and are referred to as mid-rise buildings. Buildings over 5–7 stories (depending on local laws) require extra safety precautions such as water pumps and interior "fire-proof" stairs; these are referred to as high-rise buildings. I modified the Wikipedia definition to cover the usage of "garden apartment" that I've encountered in Massachusetts, New York, and Florida. This also coincides with the definition used in a magazine article on preserving such buildings across the country. I loosened the Wikipedia definition of garden apartment and added the magazine article as a reference. I retained the alternate definition of "basement unit with windows at lawn/garden level" since I have also encountered that euphemism used by real estate agents, and did find a reference similar to it. Bingoeleven (talk) 08:56, 17 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Image

Image:P54ArtDecFlat.JPG, currently in the article, seems a bit lackluster to me. If someone has a more interesting picture of a Deco-era building, great. Otherwise perhaps Image:Engelske kvarter Trondheim.jpg, a somewhat ginger-bready but imposing apartment building from Poland? - Jmabel | Talk 02:04, 4 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What about these. I think one of them used to be on this page around april 2007, but I can't find it here anymore. Nonetheless, they are interesting buildings. -- Jethero^Talk 02:48, 17 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Variations in prevalence around the world

It maybe would be great if this article could provide info on how percentages of citizens reside in apartments around the world, including urban v. rural in various countries. Anyone know how I might find info on this? I have access to a large library, but haven't been able to find a source for statistics of this sort. Peoplesunionpro (talk) 03:28, 12 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Former Soviet Union/Soviet bloc and China are leaders beyond any doubt. 93.72.233.80 (talk) 08:25, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This sort of statistic generally seems quite difficult to find. In London 52% of homes are flats (as of 2011 census). I have added this information to the "England" section of the article.Anonymous watcher (talk) 17:17, 9 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

WP Vacancy?

Is there no over-arching Project for rentals, apartments, share housing, &c? If so, this could use tagging... TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 04:00, 1 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Flat vs. Apartment

I have always distinguished between flat and apartment.

A flat has a front door and a back door.

See railroad/shotgun flats.

An apartment is a cul-de-sac with only one [front] door.

My San Francisco apartment is called a "One bedroomette".

The front door opens to the main room; then the bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom are behind a door off of the main room.

WoodenBooks (talk) 06:19, 15 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That distinction is undocumented, and does not meet general U.S. or U.K./Commonwealth usage. --Orange Mike | Talk 13:33, 27 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

10-year-olds

Article reads as if written by and for 10-year-olds. --91.35.84.198 (talk) 10:53, 30 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's likely that some of the readers of this article will be children around 10 years old. Wikipedia is for everybody, including kids. Not every topic can be made understandable by 10 year olds, but this Apartment topic is important enough for kids to learn about. There's nothing wrong with writing about the fundamentals of a topic. H Padleckas (talk) 23:35, 22 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

But it is really badly written, that's their point. The grammar is terrible.Mr Morden76 (talk) 19:32, 26 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Tenement

There's no definition here of what a tenement is, or how it's different from any other apartment building. Could someone rectify? Stevage 03:54, 11 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Reference 6

What's the sense of reference no. 6? Advertisement for Donald Trump?? Tabasco da Gammla (talk) 14:43, 17 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Items for Cleanup

The intro is too long (needs to be divided into sections)
Too much use of bold in section Apartment types and characteristics
Could use some reorganization

Skewed to Ahglo-Saxon world

This article is pre-ocupied with the details and pictures of the U.S. Anglo-Saxon countries. Which is surprising because former Soviet Union and China have amassed so far the largest experience in apartment-type housing/urban planning.

That is were *the real* Apartment-building experience is)

The West here is only a marginal amateur with insignificant share of apartments for the last 50 years - like it or not. 93.72.233.80 (talk) 08:34, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Converted Flats

There should be some mention of converted flats which are one of the most common housing types within towns and cities in the UK (and perhaps elsewhere?). The current article seems more focussed on blocks of flats or purpose built flats in mansion buildings etc. However, I am not sure how to find appropriate sources for this, as any internet search for information is inevitable swamped by thousands of specific flats for rent/sale. For those not familiar with converted flats, these are self contained dwellings within a, usually Victorian or Georgian terrace, house that has been subdivided (usually to form one flat on each level of the house).Anonymous watcher (talk) 16:38, 9 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Apartment House

According to the article, buildings containing apartments are known as apartment houses in American English. This comes as a great surprise to this American, as I have only ever heard such a building referred to as an apartment building or complex. 71.255.96.181 (talk) 19:45, 17 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, I would suggest switching the text to apartment building (in American English). Coming from Ontario here. --99.243.68.63 (talk) 14:39, 23 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

US centric and badly written

This entire article, particularly the section on apartment class, is geared purely towards a reader from the USA. The terms Blue and White collar (worker) have little meaning in the rest of the world. It's also probably the worst written article I have ever seen on here.Mr Morden76 (talk) 19:32, 26 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Disadvantages Need Expanding

The Disadvantages section, esp. the Energy Use, needs expansion and clean up. I did what I could to fix the grammar, but my response to the Energy Use disadvantage can be summed up as "and?". It provides no obvious disadvantages and I am unable to determine what the original author intended to say (it seems to be against taller apartment buildings, but many apartment buildings outside of city centers in America are only a few stories tall in my experience). 50.135.47.66 (talk) 06:02, 6 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Apartment vs. Flat in Ireland

I will change the article to reflect the far more prominent usage of the word 'apartment' in Ireland over the word 'flat'. I can vouch for this through personal experience, having lived in Ireland for 26 of my 27 years, and also have clear examples from the Irish media here:

http://www.thejournal.ie/waterway-apartments-evacuated-1313137-Feb2014/
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0709/461344-clondalkin-fire/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/navan-apartments-evacuated-over-fire-safety-concerns-1.1609631
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/hibernia-reit-invests-in-dundrum-apartments-30017934.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/trial-told-dublin-apartments-were-used-as-brothels-1.1664505

The term 'flat' is occasionaly used, but generally in the case of lower quality dwellings, or by people who have spent time living in the United Kingdom where that term is much more commonplace. Number10a (talk) 10:36, 22 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

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Dubious statement

" Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier, by leasehold tenure or rented by tenants (two types of housing tenure)."

This statement seems to be misconceived. The question of who owns the individual apartments [ or the entire building ], and the basis on which actual residents actually occupy them, are two separate issues, which vary a lot from country to country.Lathamibird (talk) 06:05, 2 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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