Check about Parking Space While Buying a House

While buying a house, one would prepare their own checklist that has to be taken care and more often they miss out few points that have to be given utmost care and finally they suffer and realize after moving in to the house. Hence, the buyer should confirm with the seller or developer about all the specifications and make a clarification about the common areas, maintenance charges, and the portion of the houses that the buyer has right to sell. Among many points that a buyer should consider while buying a house is the parking space as it may create some confusions to the buyers in future.

Here are some points that has to be taken care while checking about the parking space:

Selling parking slots:
While buying house make sure that as a buyer you are acquainted that parking space cannot be sold as it is a part of society’s common area and not part of Floor Space Index (FSI). The parking space can be sold only if the developers have used the FSI for parking space and have sufficient proof to justify that FSI was allotted to develop car parking space.

The 2010 Supreme Court judgment delivered by Justices R M Lodha and A K Patnaik states that the buyers need not to pay any additional money to buy parking spaces from the property developers and also declares that the developer has no right to sell any portion that is not a flat.

The Apartment Acts of most states also states that selling of parking spaces is in contradiction of the classification of common area and facilities. According to the Apartment Act of Haryana, the common area as the land on which the building is located includes building's entrances and exits, basement, lobbies, cellars, halls, stairs, stairways, yards, gardens, fire escapes, storage spaces, and parking spaces within the location.

In any case, if a developer charges buyers for car parking additionally, the buyer can redress in a consumer court of the city or state level. For example, recently the Central Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum ordered Tata Housing Development Company to refund Rs.50,000 and to compensate with Rs.20,000 additional to one their customer Suresh Mehta who paid for parking slot in their Betegaon, Palghar Project.

Buying parking spaces:
Selling of car parking slots is illegal and if you have purchase parking space, then it becomes worthless and invalid. The owner of all parking spaces within a project is a housing society, which is registered takes in charge of the project.

Money-back option if parking space bought:
Since, developers are not allowed to sell car parking slots, they don’t charge the buyers additionally, instead they cost is included into the apartment’s price. However, if the buyer has any proof of buying car space from the developer, then he can approach any consumer court in the city.

Distribution of parking slots:
Generally, parking space is allotted on first come first serve basis, in case if a housing society has a constricted number of parking slots, then the distribution is decided by the society's managing committee by consulting with the members. Allotment is done through a yearly draw, if the number of cars exceeds the slots vacant and some member may not get slots. Many societies reallot parking slots so that the buyers would not claim ownership of parking spaces. Extra parking space can be given to a buyer, if all the member in the society are allotted with parking space.

Is parking space compulsory in a society?
Aakansha Joshi, Senior Associate of Economics Laws Practice says that in accordance with the guidelines of Development Control Regulations (DCR 1991) in Regulation 36 for Greater Bombay, which says that whenever a property is developed or redeveloped, parking slots have to be provided with a commencement certificate and the development permission by submitting a building plan that includes the details of the parking spaces.

Sachin Sandhir, MD of RICS in South Asia says that the ideal building rules of the National Building Code (NBC) of India, the Town and Country Planning Organization, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India states that parking slots for units in a housing development is compulsory.

So, make sure that as a buyer, you don’t pay any additional cost for parking space or pay any amount to buy parking slot, if you do so, then make sure that you have evidence for paying additional price or buying parking slot.