Flat Chat Strata Forum Parking Peeves Current Page

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  • #8453
    basjan27
    Flatchatter

      Hi, 

      Our block has two visitor parking spaces that are being used exclusively by tenants.  Each unit comes with a garage, but the three bedroom rentals are taking up the visitors spots. 

      The tenants, and owners, have been warned many times.  The reality is, nature loves a vacuum, and it’s just not practical to enforce the parking bylaw in a beach suburb with little on-street parking. 

      We’re wondering whether it would be legal to offer these two visitor spots for lease, either direct to tenants, or to owners of rental units.  If it is legal, what kind of approval would be required for use of the common property for commercial purposes to benefit the Owners Corporation?  A unanimous or special resolution?  A development application to council?  

      Thanks in advance

    Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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    • #16730
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        Your building’s DA would have stipulated a number of visitor parking spots as conditions of it’s approval – Council may not like you turning them into extra spots for tenants, especially since there may have been deliberate decisions to limit the number of car spaces available to residents in strata (to get us to use public transport more).

        Owners Corps can rent out common property and the money goes into the admin fund.  However, I believe the tax office views that as an earning by the individual owners who have to declare their share of the income in their annual tax returns.

        A better way to solve the problem and make some money would be to padss a by-law allowing the Owners Corp to impose an administration charge for the pursuit of Notices To Comply.  You can’t fine owners directly for breaches – but you can get owners to agree to cover the cost of taking action agains owners when breaches have been notified.

        I hasten to add, the legalities of this are pretty dodgy but it is a wonderful scare tactic if you want your visitor spaces to be kept for visitors.  Even without that, tenants should be reminded that by breaching by-laws they are breaching their tenancy agreement and could then be evicted. 

        The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
        #16736
        struggler
        Flatchatter

          So with only 2 visitors spots, it is a small complex of units?  

          Why are only the owners who rent their units out getting special treatment?  If I was looking at a unit in a complex that had in writing that only those units that were rented out could have access to the visitors car spots I would look elsewhere.  And what if another unit, or two, decides to rent theirs out?  They may cry fowl because you let them park there and not us!  

          Send out the notices to comply.  If you rent or buy an apartment with only one car spot and you need two or three, you should have thought about that and found somewhere with more garages.  I have seen potential buyers coming to this complex, looking at the places with one garage and then pointing over to the visitors spots, smiling and nodding.  And bingo, they move in to the unit, and they move into the visitors car spot.  

          We did have many years ago some residents complain because they had more cars than car spaces or needed extra parking etc and why can’t they use the visitors car spots.  So we did suggest that we look into owners being able to have use of the spots and this would be offered to owners in order of their purchase date into the complex.  This was not greeted well as those residents who wanted the visitors spots had only just moved in and didn’t want those who had been here  since year dot to have use of the visitors spots!  That wouldn’t be fair!   That guy who has been here 10 years only has one car, why should he be allowed to park there!  Well, why shouldn’t he?  

          #16738
          Jimmy-T
          Keymaster

            @struggler said:
            That guy who has been here 10 years only has one car, why should he be allowed to park there!  Well, why shouldn’t he?  

            And, as you know, the reason really is because they are visitor spots.  

            It amazes and amuses me that some people (not you, Struggs) can’t grasp the concept of “visitor”. The reason the spaces are empty a lot of the time is so that people who need them can use them.  They aren’t spares or optional extras.  They are there for doctors, plumbers, electricians, pizza delivery people, relatives, friends, police officers, interior designers, lift mechanics, couriers, strata managers and anyone else who needs a safe place to park for a few minutes or a couple of hours. One selfish resident can stop all those people from finding somewhere to park.  I reckon the current rewrite of strata laws is going to allow illegally parked cars to be towed and/or owners to fine by-law breachers directly for obvious things like illegal parking.  Bring it on, say I.

            The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
            #16739
            kiwipaul
            Flatchatter

              It seems the adjudicators in NSW aren’t as hard line as those in QLD regarding visitor parking spots (searching the online rulings). They seem to allow you to vote to let residents use the Visitor Parking Bays providing you obtain permission from the EC or OC.

              Quote from a ref adjudicators ruling in QLD

              While it may be true that the visitor car spaces may be vacant much, or most, of the time, these are designated visitor spaces required by the local government, the Gold Coast City Council, to be used for visitor’s parking. These spaces are a universal local government requirement for the registration of a community titles scheme, and remain a continuing requirement of the scheme. Even if the body corporate wanted to use these spaces for resident parking, or some other purpose, it is not able to do so…There is no question of the respondent, or any person other than a genuine visitor, being allowed to park in the designated visitor car spaces.”

              In QLD their is no question of it being something the OC or EC can decide, they have to get the approval of the council to release the visitor parking bays for other use (unlikely IMHO). Most people in QLD seem to think that OC or EC can approve this but in reality they cannot.

              If you let residents use the visitor parking bays it becomes a free for all to the detriment of ALL residents.

              #16742
              struggler
              Flatchatter

                Oh please, please, please let it be true that in the near future the act will allow for those residents who park in the visitors spots will have their cars towed away.  And I want to be there to see the look on the face of the residents when they find their cars gone.   

                #16743
                Jimmy-T
                Keymaster

                  @kiwipaul said:
                  It seems the adjudicators in NSW aren’t as hard line as those in QLD regarding visitor parking spots …

                  Adjudicators in NSW live in their own little world where the only law is strata law, even though they know it is subject to every other law and is lowest in the pecking order.  So a NSW adjudicator could make exactly such a ruling without even considering that, just like in Queensland, renting visitors parking to owners, tenants or the people next door is a breach of their planning approval. At the end of the day, a CTTT ruling is just a step on the road to a proper ruling by a proper court – in other words, a waste of time and money.

                  The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
                  #16758
                  struggler
                  Flatchatter

                    It’s not just the concept of the visitors car parks that some people have trouble with, in this complex it’s the concept of common property (under which visitors car parks would fall) that people here either don’t get or don’t want to get.

                    Last week bags of rubbish were left on common property. This week building materials have been left in a visitors car spot. No doubt to make a change to common property without permission. And the EC all pass by with their blinkers on. Not doing anything about it. But why would they, I am still waiting for them to carry out the maintenance of common property. Its only been 10 months. They aren’t doing anything there, so why bother themselves with anything at all.

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