What are common areas?

What is a common area?

A common area is everything in your community that isn't someone's individually owned unit or lot: hallways, roofs, roads, the pool, the clubhouse, the landscaped grounds. Nevada's common-interest statute, one state's codification of a structure used across the country, defines it this way:

"all portions of the common-interest community other than the units, including easements in favor of units or the common elements over other units."

Source: Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 116, Section 116.017, Nevada Legislature

Who actually owns that space depends on what kind of community you have. In a condominium, unit owners own the common elements together, as tenants in common, meaning every owner holds an undivided share. In a typical subdivision HOA, the picture is different:

"The typical subdivision has a common area that's owned by the HOA by virtue of a recorded deed or plat."

Source: Common area ownership in condominiums and subdivisions, State Bar of Texas

The association itself, not the owners jointly, holds title. Confirm which structure applies to you by checking your own declaration and recorded plat.

Common property, but not for everyone

Some common property is carved out for the exclusive use of just one owner or a few. A balcony, an assigned parking space, or a patio attached to a single unit is the classic case. Nevada's statute calls this a limited common element:

"a portion of the common elements allocated by the declaration or by operation of subsection 2 or 4 of NRS 116.2102 for the exclusive use of one or more but fewer than all of the units."

Source: Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 116, Section 116.059, Nevada Legislature

Only one owner may use it, but it stays legally common property, not part of the unit itself. That distinction matters for insurance, for maintenance duties, and for who controls what happens to it. Check your declaration for exactly which spaces it designates as limited common elements.

Who pays to fix it

The default rule splits responsibility along the same line as ownership. Your declaration can, and often does, change it, but absent that:

"the association has the duty to provide for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the common elements, and each unit's owner has the duty to provide for the maintenance, repair and replacement of his or her unit."

Source: Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 116, Section 116.3107, Nevada Legislature

In plain terms: the association fixes the roof, the roads, and the shared pool. You fix what's inside your own walls. Declarations frequently reassign specific items, like windows, exterior doors, or HVAC condensers, so read yours before assuming the default applies.