A garden apartment is a residential unit located at ground level on property that is usually landscaped. Although the term is often used loosely to describe any first floor apartment, including one in a high rise or basement, a true garden apartment has no household above it. These apartments are not vertically stacked, but rather horizontally spread out in an open area that may have a courtyard. Examples are found all over the world.
Many of these apartments have one or two bedrooms, but some may have three or even more. One rented for vacation use is furnished, while one rented out long-term is often unfurnished. There may be one or two stories to the apartment, and the entrance could be off of a street or a courtyard. The common garden area may include a swimming pool or other outdoor amenities, such as a basketball or tennis court. Some complexes have a clubhouse or spa.
Attractive apartments have well cared-for grounds with flowers and trees, and the owners of the property are responsible for the upkeep of the outdoor areas. If an area for dogs is included, then tenants are responsible for cleaning up after their pets. This is a general rule for when pets live in apartment complexes and what will often deter a landlord from selecting your application for a lease. If you're applying for a garden apartment unit and are afraid that your pet might get you disqualified consider submitting an emotional support animal letter to your landlord. Some garden apartments may include a small yard, but most have a patio. This can be a nice place to have a barbecue or outdoor meal or just enjoy some fresh air if the grounds are well maintained.
Although tenants share the main outside grounds and any amenities, each apartment is a separate household unit. For example, each has its own furnace and heat controls as well as kitchen and bathroom facilities. This may not be the case in some older units, though.
Many garden apartment complexes offer premium features like exercise rooms, conference rooms and other recreational facilities like swimming pools and saunas. Only some complexes have such features however; for example, only a handful of apartments in Denver offer swimming pools and even fewer have workout facilities.
A walk-up apartment is a type of garden apartment that has an outdoor staircase. The apartment may be located on top of a parking garage. Tenants often have a designated parking spot in the garage in which to park their vehicles. The parking places are likely to be numbered for easy identification.