Dissolving Condominium, Private Takings, and the Definition of Property

It may be odd, even foolish, to deliver a paper to English property law scholars on a form of property that hardly exists in this jurisdiction. Condominium enables the subdivision of multi-unit developments into multiple titles, and has become the principal instrument for subdividing ownership within buildings in most of the common-law world, except England. However, while this paper focuses on condominium, its claim—that the non-consensual dissolution (termination) of condominium is a form of private-to-private taking or expropriation—applies to other legal instruments (including cooperative and various leasehold arrangements) that also subdivide ownership within buildings. Moreover, the choice of dissolution rule—dissolution requires the unanimous consent of title holders, or, is permitted with a supermajority vote—is also a choice about the form and social role of property in land. Understanding this reveals important insights on debates over the definition of property that extend well beyond the particular features of condominium.