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Hi All, first post here.
Our strata has 20 odd car parking spaces that are freely available to all 160 owners on a first come first serve basis. The owners corporation is now looking to restrict access to these spaces on the basis of charging an annual fee for each space, with owners able to enter a ballot to be allocated a space. Owners who do not get a space will no longer be able to park onsite.
Can the OC do this, and if so, what will it need to do to implement this?
Many thanks.
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Can the OC do this, and if so, what will it need to do to implement this?
Well, we can assume this is common property and the owners corp has the right, in fact, the duty to manage it. However, it may be that in your and other owners’ contracts of sale you were told you would have the possibility of parking. That means the OC would, at the very least, have to change the strata management statement to reflect this and that could be challenged legally.
Personally, I think it would be fairer if the committee set a fee for a year’s rental and then had an open ballot for 20 lucky winners. Those owners who didn’t want a space could then rent it to others who missed out in the draw. And every year you do it again but exclude the previous year’s winners.
Either way, this would require a by-law which would mean a 75 percent vote in favour (or no more than 25 per cent of those voting to vote against). Can you muster 40 no votes. Don’t forget that everyone benefits from the money going into the kitty.
I have to say, however, that renting the spaces to the highest bidders may be fundamentally unfair – the people who need parking most might be the least likely to be able to afford it.
How about an essay competition – “Why I need one of these parking spaces more than anyone else”. Happy to offer my services as a judge.
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