A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condiminimum units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner of the same accommodation is allotted their period of time. The minimum purchase is a one-week ownership, and the high-season weeks demand the higher prices. Units may be sold as a partial ownership, lease, or "right to use", in which case the latter holds no claim to ownership of the property. The ownership of timeshare programs is varied, and has been changing over the decades.
Legislation
The industry is regulated in all countries where resorts are located. In Europe, it is regulated by European and by national legislation. In 1994, the European Communities adopted "The European Directive 94/47/EC of the European Parliament and Council on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis", which was subject to recent review, and resulted in the adoption on the 14th of January 2009 on European Directive 2008/122/EC.