The term “partial common area” as used in the Act on Ownership and Management of Apartment Complexes (hereinafter referred to as the “Apartment Complex Act”) refers to a portion of the common area that is clearly provided for the common use of only some of the unit owners.

These common areas belong to the common ownership of the unit owners who share them (Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Apartment Building Act). While these common areas are a type of common area, they are effectively treated as the exclusive property of the unit owners who share them.

For example, in the case of a mixed-use building, if the entrances and elevators for the residential and commercial sections are constructed separately, the entrances and elevators will each correspond to a common area of the apartment or commercial section.

Unit owners can use the entire common area according to its purpose, but only some unit owners who share that common area can use it (Article 11 of the Apartment Building Act).

Matters concerning the management of the entire common area are decided by a general meeting resolution of all unit owners, except for matters concerning changes to the common area (Article 16, Paragraph 1 of the Apartment Building Act). However, matters concerning the management of a portion of the common area are decided by a meeting resolution of only the unit owners of that portion of the common area (Article 14 of the Apartment Building Act).

The cost required for managing common areas is borne by all unit owners, but the cost required for managing some common areas is borne by some unit owners in principle.

Each unit owner's share of the common areas of an apartment complex is calculated based on the proportion of the area of his or her exclusive portion (Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Apartment Complex Act). However, in this case, if there is a portion of the common area that is shared by the unit owner, the area is allocated based on the proportion of the exclusive portion of the unit owner who shares the common area, and that area is included in the area of each unit owner's exclusive portion (Article 12, Paragraph 2 of the Apartment Complex Act).

The distinction between a fully common area and a partially common area is determined by the objective use of the building's structure, unless otherwise agreed upon by the unit owners (Supreme Court Decision 2006da56565, July 12, 2007). Generally, whether a building is provided for the common use of all unit owners or only for a portion of the unit owners is determined based on factors such as whether it is listed as a partially common area in the building register, the overall structure of the building, the location, usage status, and necessity of the common area in question, among other factors.

Unless the elevator structurally excludes the use of the 1st and 2nd floor unit owners, it cannot be said that there is no possibility of using it for things like rooftop use, even if the frequency of use is much lower than that of the 3rd floor or higher unit owners, and considering the structure of the building and the nature of the equipment, it would be difficult to view it as a common area.

Even if the hallways and passageways on each floor are primarily used by customers using the food court in the commercial building, if accessibility is recognized because the hallways and passageways are not structurally separated from other parts of the building, such as restrooms or stairwells, it would be difficult to view the hallways and passageways as a common part of the food court.