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UTILITIES

Services such as electricity, gas, water, and waste disposal are
known as utilities in the United States. Most utilities are provided
by private corporations, but they are closely regulated by state and
local government authorities in order to protect the public. They
set service and safety standards, as well as establishing rates and
charges for each utility.
Some companies provide more than one service, so they may
send a combined bill for electricity and gas, for example. Utilities
must be in the name of the person who lives in a house or apart-
ment, and a returnable deposit of $50 to $300 may be required
before a service is provided. There may also be a connection fee.
Water rates may be charged separately, or they may be included in
local property taxes.

HOUSING OPTIONS

Of course, not all Americans live in a detached single-family
house. In large cities, for example, many people live in apartments.
These are usually found in apartment buildings, with a few
apartments on each floor of a relatively tall building, although
large older houses are also divided into apartments.
In smaller cities, where there is more space for building
horizontally, apartment complexes are a common sight-large
developments of two- and three-story buildings containing a
variety at different-sized apartments. They have facilities such as
laundry rooms, swimming pools, and gyms for the use of the
residents. A management company usually owns and runs these
complexes.
A quirk of American buildings is that there is hardly ever a
thirteenth floor in them because it is considered bad luck. The
numbering of the floors skips from the twelfth to the fourteenth.
Most people who live in apartments rent them, but there are a
few options for people who want to own their apartments. The first
and probably most common is the condominium or condo. The
apartment is owned by the person who lives in it who pays a
maintenance fee for the upkeep of the building and for the use of
any facilities in the building. Another option the co-op, in which