Study the most common types of housing.

Notes to the text:

detached / attached dwellings – маєток (окремий будинок), окреме житло / прикріплений будинок, будинок на декількох власників

to vary (ed) in scale and amount – відрізнятися масштабами та кількістю

mortgage – заставна (плата по іпотечному / нерухомому кредиту)

to rent(ed) a house / flat – орендувати будинок / квартиру

landlord / landlady – власник житла (чол. / жін.)

semi-detached house – половина двоквартирного будинку з окремим входом (будинок на два власники)

terraced house – таунхаус (будинок стрічкової забудови)

duplex house – двоквартирний будинок / duplex apartment – квартира на двох поверхах із внутрішніми сходами (Am.)

to share(ed) a wall – мати спільну стіну

thatched / tiled roof – солом’яний / черепичний дах

to retire(ed) – піти на пенсію

co-ownership – співвласництво

self-contained – автономний

to share(ed) a lease in a partnership – мати частку оренди в партнерстві

occupant – орендар, мешканець

maisonette – маленький будинок, двоповерхова квартира

basement – підвальне приміщення

Houses can be built in a large variety of configurations. A basic division is between free-standing or detached dwellings and various types of attached or multi-user dwellings. Both sorts may vary greatly in scale and amount of accommodation provided. Some of the terms listed are only used in some parts of the English speaking world.

When people buy a house, they usually borrow money from a bank or an organization called a Building Society. This money, which is a mortgage, is often paid back over 25 years. Other people rent a house or a flat paying rent weekly or monthly to a landlord or a landlady – the owner of the house.

Detached house. A detached house has land all around it. More and more modern homes are detached, although in areas where building land is expensive, the houses may be very close to each other.

Semi-detached house. These houses share a central wall. Typically a semi has a small garden in front and a fence divides a larger garden at the back.

Terraced house. Terraced houses are attached to each other in a long row. They are usually found in towns and cities and were earlier called townhouses. They usually have three or four storeys.

Duplex house. Duplex houses are usually two separate residences, attached side-by-side, but the term is sometimes used to mean layered apartments on two different floors (particularly in urban areas such as New York and San Francisco). The duplex house often looks like either two houses put together, or as a large single home, and both legally and structurally, shares a wall between halves. The duplex home is a single townhouse section with two different entrances. The jargon terms “triplex” and “four-plex” are names for similar structures with three or four housing units.

Country cottage. Country cottages are often stone buildings which were part of a farm. Some country cottages are very old and may have a thatched or a tiled roof. Today many people who work in the cities buy cottages so that they have a place to go for the weekends.

Bungalow. A bungalow is a house where all the rooms are on the ground floor. As there are no stairs, many older people dream of going to live in a bungalow when they retire.

Villa. Villa is a large house with big gardens or a rented house in a holiday resort or tourist area.

Block of flats. A block of flats is a large building divided into several apartments.

Condominium. Condominium is a form of ownership with individual apartments for everyone, and co-ownership (by percentages) of all of the common areas, such as corridors, hallways, stairways, lobbies, recreation rooms, porches, rooftops, and any outdoor areas of the grounds of the buildings.

Apartment (UK – flat). It is a relatively self-contained housing unit in a building which is often rented out to one person or a family, or two or more people sharing a lease in a partnership, for their exclusive use. Sometimes called digs (slang).

Studio apartment or Studio flat (Br), or Bachelor apartment or Efficiency apartment. It is a suite with a single room that doubles as living / sitting room and bedroom, with a kitchenette and bath. The unit is designed for a single occupant or possibly a couple.

Maisonette. It is an apartment / flat on two levels with internal stairs, or which has its own entrance at street level.

Mother-in-law apartment. It is a small apartment either at the back, in the basement, or on an upper level subdivision of the main house, usually with a separate entrance (also known as a “Granny flat” in the UK, Australia and New Zealand).

Penthouse. It is the top floor of multi-storied building.

Movable dwellings. They are the cheapest form of housing to buy. Mobile homes or park homes can be moved from place to place by trucks. They are located in special mobile home parks called mobile villages. They are usually on the outskirts of cities. Besides, one should mention Travel trailer or Caravan used by people for traveling.

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