Does anyone know?

[Celestial-Todd]

What the difference (if any) is between a flat and a unit?

I enter housing details all day and this has been bugging me!

 

[Icarus]

A flat would be part of a one level building and a unit can be part of a buidling with many levels? I dunno just guessing.

 

[Goreripper]

Nah. They both mean pretty much the same thing, except a "flat" is generally in a multi-storey complex and a "unit" is town-house type affair. But a flat can also be a separate building on the same block as a larger house, like a granny flat or a converted garage or caravan. Maybe you should start asking to see "apartments" and really throw a spanner in the works.

 

[Kem]

I'd have thought flat would be low-set, not multi-storey, if it's called a flat?

 

[Celestial-Todd]

Yeah the reason I asked was because I entered two contracts in a street I know... know these blocks are completely identical but one was listed as a flat and the other as a unit... it made me scratch my head!

 

[Mark]

Depends which school you went to, as they say

They're essentially the same thing, although strangely I would be more open to viewing a 'flat' than a 'unit' 'Unit' makes me think of holiday accommodation.

 

[The Amazer]

Unit is a much better term, I like to think I live in a unit.

And it'd sound weird saying something like Flat 6/22 Accacia Avenue.

 

[Spiff]

I live in a unit. Invalids live in flats.

 

[Mark]

No, you live in a townhouse

 

[Spiff]

Do I? I thought the townhouse was a collection of units. *shrug*

 

[Winmar]

I live in a flat. It's a vertical building, and I'm on the third floor of three.

The housing commission flats (80 storeys high or so they seem) in Flemington I can see from my window could never be referred to as units!