Parking problems in Sectional Title schemes



Parking is an ever-prickly problem in sectional title schemes - even when all owners have their 'own' garages and/ or parking bays.There's always someone, for example, who'll argue their automatic right to use a non-exclusive use visitor's bay as a permanent home for a boat, a trailer or a caravan.However, notes sectional title expert Bob Gauld, prescribed conduct Rule 3 provides that: • No owner or occupier shall park or stand any vehicle upon the common property, or permit or allow any vehicle to be parked or stood upon the common property, without the consent of the trustees in writing; and that • The trustees may cause to be removed or towed away, at the risk and expense of the owner of the vehicle, any vehicle parked, standing or abandoned on the common property without the trustees' consent.The only exception to this rule is parking in bays that, although part of the common property, have been designated as exclusive use parking bays.'In other words, although visitors' parking bays are on common property, and parking is allowed in them, the body corporate is entitled to specify who may park there and impose conditions.'And if the majority of owners decide that caravans, trailers and boats are unsightly and intrusive, they may direct the trustees to refuse consent for parking of those types of vehicles. Consent to park vehicles that exceed the length of the bay or restrict the use of adjacent bays, should in any case be refused,' says Gauld.Some bodies corporate also impose a limit on the time that residents may park vehicles in visitors' bays, or specify that certain bays are to be reserved for bona fide visitors. Others authorise trustees to lease some of the bays to residents.Meanwhile, Gauld suggests, ST developers should consider designating more areas as exclusive-use parking bays. 'Many townhouse schemes comprise townhouses separated from a garage by a space wide enough to park a car. Although these areas are considered by many to be a parking bay for the benefit of the section owner, in practice they seldom are. It is a pity that developers do not designate them as exclusive use parking bays, either under section 27 or 27A of the Act. The same applies to the driveway areas directly in front of garages.'On the other hand, though, owners who use garages as workshops or convert them into residential use are often violating section 44(1)(g) of the Sectional Titles Act or management rule 68(1)(v) - and should be disabused of the idea that they are then entitled to extra parking on common property. Article: Property24 News for the latest real estate news, visit www.property24.co.za