HOA vs condominium association vs cooperative in the United States: what state law says
In the United States each form is defined by state statute. In Florida, an HOA is a corporation in which membership is a mandatory condition of owning a parcel; a condominium is made up of units, each with an undivided share of the common elements; and in a cooperative a corporation or other entity holds legal title while residents hold an ownership interest in the association plus a lease or similar right. Florida and Texas regulate the forms under different chapters, California under one act.
«"Homeowners' association" or "association" means a Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a community or a mobile home subdivision in which the voting membership is made up of parcel owners or their agents, or a combination thereof, and in which membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership, and which is authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel.»
Florida. Three chapters: condominiums under chapter 718, cooperatives under chapter 719 and homeowners' associations under chapter 720. A condominium is a form of ownership of real property comprised entirely of units, with an undivided share in common elements appurtenant to each unit (Fla. Stat. § 718.103). A cooperative is a form of ownership in which legal title is vested in a corporation or other entity and the beneficial use is evidenced by an ownership interest in the association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession (Fla. Stat. § 719.103). A homeowners' association is a Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a community in which membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership and which can impose assessments that may become a lien on the parcel (Fla. Stat. § 720.301).
Texas. Condominiums sit under chapter 82, which applies to declarations recorded on or after January 1, 1994 (an older condominium can be governed exclusively by chapter 82 by owner vote, and some chapter 82 sections apply to older condominiums too), and property owners' associations under chapter 209 (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.002). Chapter 209 applies to a residential subdivision whose declaration lets the association collect regular or special assessments, whatever the entity is called, whether homeowners' association, community association or something similar, and it does not apply to a condominium (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.003). A Texas condominium is real property in which at least some common elements are owned directly in undivided interests by the unit owners (Tex. Prop. Code § 82.003).
California. One act, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, covers four forms under the term common interest development: a community apartment project, a condominium project, a planned development and a stock cooperative (Cal. Civ. Code § 4100).
The umbrella word. Florida's licensing statute defines community association as a residential homeowners' association in which membership is a condition of ownership of a unit or lot, covering a planned unit development, townhouse, villa, condominium, cooperative or other residential unit in a development scheme, that can impose a charge that becomes a lien on the parcel (Fla. Stat. § 468.431). That is why this glossary says community association.
The cooperative is different in substance. The corporation holds legal title and the resident holds an ownership interest in it plus a lease or similar right, so a sentence about a lien on a unit written for a condominium does not carry over to a co-op (Fla. Stat. § 719.103).
What Unitify covers
Unitify serves HOAs, condominium associations and co-ops run by an association or its management company. The resident app gives owners bills, requests, announcements and votes in one place. Unitify is built for associations, not for landlords running rental buildings.
The Unitify resident app
