A form of ownership created by statute, synonymous with condominium ownership.
Some jurisdictions refer to the building/apartment co-ownership scheme as condominium (eg. the Condominium Act of Nova Scotia), others the Strata Title Act. British Columbia began in 1966 with a strata title statute; reverted to a condominium act and more recently, in 1998, returned again to the nomenclature of Strata Title Act.
In his book, law professor Pavlich defined strata as follows:
"... the Strata Titles Act ... property-law regime ... consists of a combination of title in fee simple in respect of a described part of a building or designated air space or even bare land, coupled with an interest as a tenant in common in respect of the remaining (common) areas, either in the form of land, air space, facilities or buildings."
REFERENCES:
- Condominium Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 85
- Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Condominium
- Pavlich, D., The Strata Titles Act - Condominium Law in BC (Vancouver: Butterworths, 1978), pages 1-2
- Strata Property Act, S.B.C. 1998, c. 43