An apartment is a single-family suite of rooms including a kitchen and at least one bathroom, situated in a building with multiple such suites, apartments are generally rental property. Apartment is mostly the North American term for such housing. The word apartment comes from the Italian word appartamento, originally used to describe a set of rooms in a house that are used exclusively by one person.
A flat is the British English equivalent of the word apartment. A flat is a single-family suite of rooms including a kitchen and at least one bathroom situated in a building with multiple such suites, a flat is generally a rental property. The word flat meaning an apartment comes from the Old English word flett, which means floor, a dwelling. Occasionally, one sees the word flat used in North America to give a more upscale feeling to the property available for rent, while in Britain one occasionally sees the word apartment to indicate that the rental property in question is luxurious.
Examples
The problem, says Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Michelle Meyer, is that much of the recent apartment construction has been concentrated in luxury buildings in the largest U.S. cities. (The Wall Street Journal)
In ultracompetitive rental markets, some renters are going to extremes to snag (and keep) the apartment they want: paying a full year’s rent in advance, delivering their application with a bottle of wine, or offering to paint the walls and replace the cruddy carpet on their dime. (Money Magazine)
Described as an artist’s studio, the flat has a drawing room, kitchen, bathroom and the bedroom which is on a mezzanine. (The Daily Mail)
Local reports said her partner was detained after detectives viewed footage on CCTV cameras and saw her being kicked and punched moments before they entered their flat. (The Telegraph)