Utility bills can be lower due to central systems that distribute utilities to dwellings. Sharing childcare, cooking rotations, gardening and landscape work, and other services can save time and cut down on social isolation. Each Team specializes in a particular area of responsibility and knowledge, and has power to make decisions and carry out neighborhood policies within its mandate. Examples of Teams are Meals, Children's Concerns, Conflict Resolution, Social Events, Gardens. A dwelling unit within an attached housing cluster, with shared walls between units.
Building codes require a two-hour fire rated wall for the shared wall.
A townhouse is different than a condominium, since in a condominium the dwelling exterior and the ground under the unit are part of the Common Elements, the Common Elements are only managed by the Common Property Corporation, each unit's deed includes a share of the Common Elements, and building codes require only one-hour fire rating for the shared walls. The 3 to 5 residents in a neighborhood who manage the Common Property Corporation on a voluntary basis, for limited terms of office. They have fiduciary, property, and legal management responsibilities that are specified by law, Declarations, and Bylaws. They are obligated to protect and maintain property values and residents' benefits from well-managed common property. Committees made up of residents assist the Trustees in their work.