Townhouse vs Duplex
Townhouse and duplex are different in terms of their construction. A duplex is a kind of house that is characterized by apartments with separate entrances for two families. A townhouse on the other hand is a building with accommodating several families.
A townhouse is said to be a residential building characterized by terraces. That is why it is called terraced housing construction. A duplex on the other hand is not characterized by terraces. As a matter of fact a duplex need not have terraces. What is more important in a duplex is that it should have separate entrances for two families.
A duplex house includes two-story houses having self-contained apartment on each floor and also side-by-side apartments and share a common wall. A townhouse on the other hand is constructed altogether in a different fashion. In fact it is a terraced apartment building.
In some countries a duplex house is viewed differently. It refers to a maisonette or a single dwelling unit spread over two floors connected by an indoor staircase. A townhouse on the other hand is a single building with several dwellings characterized by common usage of selected spaces.
In short it can be said that duplex dwelling is a building which contains two dwelling units, one placed above the other. It is important to know that each of the dwellings has a separate entrance. A town house on the contrary has several dwellings and they are not exactly placed one above the other though each dwelling has a separate entrance.
One of the main differences between townhouse and duplex is that a townhouse has each owner owning the land underneath whereas a duplex has the single owner purchasing the land underneath. A duplex is two units whereas a townhouse is characterized by more side-by-side units.