• Purchasing parking in Gated community

Hello Everyone,

I live in a Gated society of 9 towers. 3 towers are combined to form a society, that is there are 3 societies and a Apex. There is parking issue for folk in tower 8 as builder did not make enough provision of common area. A owner form tower 2 is selling his covered parking, I wanted to know if I can legally purchase it? I fall under society 3 and he under society 1. As we all are under a single apex body I was thinking may be this is possible.
Asked 1 month ago in Property Law
Religion: Other

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9 Answers

If it’s allotted to rera coveted parking then only he can sell other parking date property of society 

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
35352 Answers
257 Consultations

In any condominium of flats, car parking lots come under the definition of 'common areas'. They are meant for the use and enjoyment of all the residents in common. No flat owner legally has any absolute and exclusive right over a cark parking slot. As such, they cannot be legally 'sold'.

Swaminathan Neelakantan
Advocate, Coimbatore
3234 Answers
20 Consultations

A parking slot cannot be sold as an independent, transferable piece of real estate. It is legally tied directly to the specific flat to which it was original allotted.

An owner does not possess an independent title deed for a parking slot alone. Therefore, if you execute a private sale agreement or pay cash to buy his parking slot, that transaction is legally null and void.

The rights to govern and allocate unallotted or common parking lie with the registered Managing Committee / Apex Association, not individual flat owners.

If the owner in Tower 2 no longer needs his parking (e.g., he sold his vehicle or does not own one), you can approach the Apex Body / Managing Committee to formalize a transfer, submit a joint application to the Apex Body requesting a re-allotment/transfer of user rights. The Apex Body can pass a resolution under its bylaws to re-assign the slot to your flat and update their official Parking Register and security records.

Instead of purchasing the slot, you can execute a Leave & License Agreement / Parking Lease through the society, the owner in Tower 2 retains title, but leases you the exclusive right to park on a monthly or annual fee basis. For this you require written approval (NOC) from the Apex Committee so security permits your vehicle in Tower 2's parking zone.

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T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
91226 Answers
2527 Consultations

Parking slots are only for members residing in one society 

 

if you are in different societies you cannot legally purchase parking slot 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
101018 Answers
8252 Consultations

1. in my view since there is an apex society of which the individual societies will become members, if you buy the car parking space, you cannot claim any exclusivity in the same since it appears that there are more number of flats in all towers combined than car park spaces

2. in such an event the apex society would have to allot the car park spaces by rotation so that all society members have the benefit of a dedicated car park space and no individual member claims any exclusive right over one or more car park spaces. thus, it is very likely that the apex society would ignore your purchase and proceed to allot even your purchased car park space to another member going by the rule of rotation. If that happens you would be allotted a car park space at some other location and not at your purchased parking space

Yusuf Rampurawala
Advocate, Mumbai
8001 Answers
79 Consultations

Dear Client,

It totally depends upon that ‘what kind of “parking” is actually being sold?’

This is the threshold question, and it changes the entire analysis.

  • Open/stilt parking is settled law as a “common area.” The Supreme Court in Nahalchand Laloochand Pvt. Ltd. v. Panchali Co-operative Housing Society (2010) held that builders or promoters cannot sell parking areas as independent units or flats, as these areas are to be extended as “common areas and facilities” for the owners. Such spaces belong collectively to the society and cannot be sold or transferred by an individual owner at all to anyone, in any society. 
  • Covered parking / garage (RERA defines this as a space with walls on three sides and a roof) is different. Covered parking, like garages, may be sold, but only if clearly mentioned and approved in the sanctioned plan, and RERA Rules specify enclosed or covered parking spaces approved according to building regulations as separately sellable, with MahaRERA's FAQ clarifying that common parking cannot be sold, but covered parking remains sellable. 

So the first thing to check is the seller's own documents: was this covered parking separately purchased and registered from the builder (a distinct unit in his agreement/Index-II with a defined area and price), or was it merely allotted to him by the society out of the building’s common covered parking area?

If it was allotted by the society it's likely not saleable to anyone

Most housing society bye-laws (India-wide model bye-laws, and specifically Model Bye-law 78-84 for cooperative societies) treat parking as a right of use, not a transferable asset: the allotment of parking space shall be made by the Committee on a first-come-first-served basis, and the member shall have no right to sell or transfer the parking slot allotted by the society. Allotment is also restricted to actual members with vehicles, and slots that fall vacant go back into the pool for re-allotment by the society if a resident moves out or sells the flat, the parking slot is typically surrendered to the society, which then re-allots it to the next eligible resident. 

 

I hope this answer helps, if you have any other query, kindly do not hesitate to get back to us, thank you. 

 

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
11537 Answers
127 Consultations

Sir/Madam, 

it is not clear from your query as to whether it is open parking or other kind of parking. However, it is suggested that you may purchase the parking by informing the concerned societies and Apex so that no complications are raised later by them. Please note that this suggestion is purely based on convenience as you are living under the same Apex body and you need a proper parking for yourself. There should be no problem in that. 

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
7374 Answers
16 Consultations

 

Whether you can legally purchase the covered parking from the owner of Tower 2 depends first on what exactly is meant by “covered parking” and how that parking is reflected in the sanctioned plan, sale deed, apartment documents and society records. The fact that both towers ultimately come under one Apex body does not, by itself, make a private sale of parking legally permissible.

If the parking is merely a stilt, open or common covered parking space forming part of the common areas, it generally cannot be independently sold or transferred as an individual immovable property. The Supreme Court has held that stilt/open parking forming part of common areas is not independently saleable.

However, the position can be different if what is being offered is a legally identifiable garage or separately transferable premises, rather than merely an earmarked parking slot. Therefore, before paying any consideration, you should examine the seller's registered sale deed, the sanctioned building plan, the parking allocation document, the declaration/by-laws of the three societies and Apex body, and the applicable RERA/project documents.

There is also a second issue in your case: the seller belongs to Society 1 whereas you belong to Society 3. Even if the parking is capable of being transferred, the society/Apex documents may regulate whether a parking right can be transferred to a member of another constituent society. You should therefore obtain written confirmation/NOC from the concerned societies and the Apex body before entering into the transaction.

I would particularly advise you not to execute a simple “sale deed for parking” merely because the present owner is willing to sell it. If the parking is common area, such a document may not give you legally enforceable ownership even though you have paid the consideration.

If the documents establish that it is a validly transferable private garage/parking unit, the transaction can be structured appropriately, with the society/Apex approvals and mutation/recording of the transfer completed simultaneously.

In short, do not pay the seller until the title and legal character of the parking space are verified. The fact that Tower 2 and Tower 8 fall under the same Apex body is helpful administratively, but it does not by itself create a right to purchase or transfer the parking.

For detailed legal advise you may connect on https://share.google/jCbuYXivLzFBy0dSK

 

 

Yuganshu Sharma
Advocate, Delhi
1644 Answers
5 Consultations

Purchasing a parking space from an owner in a different society within the same apex body is legally complex and generally not permissible as a direct private sale. Under Indian law, particularly the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), parking spaces are typically classified as "common areas" and belong collectively to the society's members. As per Section 2(n) of RERA, open and stilt parking spaces form part of common areas and cannot be sold separately as independent units. The Supreme Court in Nahalchand Laloochand Pvt. Ltd. v. Panchali Co-operative Housing Society (2010) held that builders or promoters cannot sell parking areas as independent units or flats, as these areas are to be extended as "common areas and facilities" for the owners. Consequently, a parking slot is legally tied to the specific flat to which it was originally allotted, and the owner does not possess an independent title deed for the parking slot alone. Therefore, a private sale agreement between you and the owner from another society would likely be legally null and void.

Even though all societies fall under a single apex body, this fact does not automatically make a cross-society sale of parking legally permissible. The governing documents of the societies and the apex body may regulate whether a parking right can be transferred to a member of another constituent society. The rights to govern and allocate unallotted or common parking lie with the registered Managing Committee or Apex Association, not individual flat owners. If you wish to acquire the parking space, the correct legal route is to approach the Apex Body or Managing Committee with a joint application from the current owner requesting a formal re-allotment or transfer of user rights. The Apex Body can then pass a resolution under its bylaws to re-assign the slot to your flat and update their official parking register and security records. Alternatively, you could execute a Leave & License Agreement or Parking Lease through the society, where the owner retains title but leases you the exclusive right to park for a monthly or annual fee, subject to written approval (NOC) from the Apex Committee. It is essential to consult a legal professional and review the specific bye-laws of your societies and the apex body before proceeding.

Lalit Saxena
Advocate, Sonbhadra
513 Answers

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