So much has been written about the lifestyle implications of condominium, and its appropriateness to the needs of modern society that most people associate it with just residential developments. However, any land tract (and buildings it may contain) that provides space for two or more separate users can be condominiumized.

Before the advent of condominium legislation, land title concepts did not contemplate and support a system of shared ownership offering both 1) exclusive title to private space, plus 2) limited financial interdependence among co-owners in a multi-unit environment.

Now, ownership of any such property can be distributed among multiple owners through titles that are independent of each other for the purposes of financing, tax assessment, or sale. Regrettably, appreciation of the potential of condominium is still hindered by prejudice and misconception. Yet, predictions of the impact of condominium on how we will live, how we will own, and how our physical environment will evolve are becoming an increasingly popular topic among journalists, social scientists, and futurists.

The following are a just a few observations.

Ownership Distribution
Condominium eliminates the tendency for ownership of a multi-unit properties to be concentrated in one person or investment group. Those for whom occupancy of subdivided space in a multi-unit property is necessary or desirable are no longer forced to accept only a rental-tenancy position. And, these same properties are no longer operated solely as commercial ventures by investors who acquire all the rights, assume all the risks, and reap all the potential gains.

Residential Rentals
As multi-unit properties shift from concentrated to dispersed ownership, the rental market will see a growing share served by individual condominium owners.

Revitalization
Condominium is already playing a significant role in the preservation of existing buildings. Across Canada, the architectural heritage of many communities is being preserved from dereliction and destruction by the conversion to condominium of historical landmarks. Also, inner-city office and warehouse structures, demand for which has been affected by suburban competition, are finding new life in residential conversion.

Town Planning
Planners of traditional subdivisions have been criticized in recent times for creating environments that are too impersonal, architecturally uninviting, and environmentally unfriendly. The common-services basis of condominium (particularly the new bare-land phenomenon) frees planners from the isolation requirements of traditional non-condominium housing. It provides opportunity to be more efficient, creative, and more community focused in configuring residences.

Tax base enhancement
Condominium ownership creates individual titles that "constitute a separate parcel of land and improvements". By widely dispersing ownership, condominium broadens the tax base that provides funds to operate and service a municipality.