Tenancies in Common Defined
In a stock cooperative, a corporation owns the entire project, including the units, and shareholders are given an exclusive right to lease a unit. In a "Community Apartment Project," the members own the entire project in common, including the units, and are given an exclusive right to lease an apartment. (Civ. Code § 4105) These are also known as "Own-Your-Owns" or "Tenancies In Common" (TIC). A condominium owner owns his unit, but a TIC owner does not. Instead, he holds a percentage interest in the entire building, along with other people who bought into it.
To qualify as a common interest development under the Davis-Stirling Act, the right to occupy an apartment must be to the exclusion of others and must be specified in the deed. A development in which an undivided interest in property is coupled with an exclusive right of occupancy in any apartment does not qualify as a community apartment project if an owner's exclusive occupancy right is specified by a separate agreement that is not contained in or referenced in the grant deed. (Adler v. Elphick (1986) 184 Cal.App.3d 642, 647-648)
In a TIC HOA, a written agreement describes each member’s rights and duties, including the exclusive right to use and occupy a particular unit and assigned parking. A unit's value is determined by its square footage and, sometimes, by its views, which, in turn, determines its assessments. Although each owner owns a portion of the parcel, it is still treated as a single unit for property tax purposes.
Because San Francisco severely restricts both new condo construction and the conversion of older buildings into condos, TICs became a popular form of ownership.
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