What is a townhouse?

A townhouse is a strata lot in a strata development that subdivides a building or land into separate parts.  In a townhouse community, each townhouse is a separate strata lot for individual ownership. The townhouse owners share the common grounds of the building or land.

In Richmond, the common types of townhouses are: 

• A row of houses that are attached (usually by the sidewalls) or unattached to other houses and they share the common grounds in the development. 
• Homes with multi floor levels have its private entrance attached to the ground level of a high rise building. 

Townhouse living

Richmond townhouses provide one to multi-levels floor plans, offering a unique and spacious layout for daily activities. Townhouse owners enjoy a feel of living in a house but pay less for the property and maintenance. Here are two different layouts of townhouses in town:

2-level townhouse with living area of about 1600 sqft:

Enter the main floor through your private main entrance with a fenced yard.  Here is a spacious living room, family room, kitchen and dining area, a bathroom and storage room.

Go upstairs to the sleeping quarters, which include a master bedroom with an ensuite and a big walk-in closet, and 2 good sized bedrooms. There’s also a bathroom and laundry room. 

Back on the main floor, you can access your double garage through the door right beside the living room.   

3-level townhouse with living area of about 1400 sqft:

Enter the townhouse through your own private entrance and go upstairs to the main floor. Here you have a spacious living room, an open kitchen with dining area and a powder room for your guests.

Go upstairs to the sleeping quarters, which include a master bedroom with an ensuite and 2 bedrooms. There’s also a bathroom and a laundry room.

Go downstairs to the basement to a den/office and go to the yard through the back door. Access your garage through the door in the hallway. 

 Features of townhouse communities

The total number of townhouses in a community ranges from 3 to 200 units, depending on the number of units in the strata development. Townhouse owners will generally have a shared ownership in the common areas of the complex and amenities such as club house, playground, swimming pool, gym and steam room. They pay a monthly strata fee that covers ongoing costs of management, general maintenance and contingency fund for expenses, like re-roofing and painting of the sidings.   

Many townhouse communities have rules and bylaws that set the regulations and restrictions to the use of the properties. Buyers should read through the rules and bylaws for the complex and be aware of them before the purchase of homes. Some common restrictions that may affect the owners include: pets restrictions (number or types allowed), age restrictions (some complex only allow residents over 19, some over 45 and some over 55), rental restrictions (allow only a certain number of units or % of units that can be rented at a time). Others may include the conformity of the color of blinds,  the use of balconies or yards that may only allow the setting and display of gardening stuff.  

For more details of townhouse communities and to find out which type of townhouse suits your needs, please email info@richmond-townhouses.com or call Ada, 604-318-8888.