Common area
Also called: Common elements; common property
Common area is the property the association owns or is responsible for on behalf of all owners: entrances, private roads, sidewalks, landscaping, retention ponds, pools, clubhouses, playgrounds. In a condominium the equivalent is the common elements, which owners hold together as undivided shares rather than through the association.
The CC&Rs and the recorded plat define exactly where common area begins and ends, and that boundary decides who pays when something breaks. Maintaining, insuring, and eventually replacing common area is what most of the budget and the reserve fund exist to cover.
Common area is also where most association liability lives — trip hazards, pool safety, tree damage — so inspections and adequate insurance matter.