As you may have purchased a condo or are thinking of a future condo/townhouse purchase I think there is some value in understanding the parking issues that can arise. Sometimes a listing will say comes with 1-2 parking stalls. Maybe one underground, covered or open. Same with storage lockers. A seller may have had use of parking areas or storage locker but may not have the authority to sell it.
Property on a strata lot is designated as either:
- Strata lot: If the parking area or storage locker is designated as a part of a strata lot the new purchaser will have use of that area.
- Common Property (CP) is common area that is within the control of the Strata Council unless there is a developer’s lease. the Strata Property Act has the authority to grant an owner exclusive use of that area.
- Developer’s Leases an agreement with a purchaser to sublease one or more parking stalls. Generally, the sub-lease provides that the owner must assign the sub lease to a new purchaser at the time the strata unit is sold.
- Limited Common Property (LCP) is common property that is designated for the exclusive use, not ownership, of a particular strata lot owner and is shown on the strata plan.
both CP and LCP are owned by all owners within a strata corporation; individuals exclusively own their strata lots.
Purchased Parking Stalls/Storage Lockers
Some sellers may have purchased parking stalls from the developer. If the area is designated CP and there is no lease/sublease arrangements even though it was paid for the strata council will need to confirm what parking stall/storage locker the purchaser will be entitled to use. Even if a developer sells a designated are for additional parking without designated LCP or entering into a lease/sublease arrangement and the area remains CP which can not be bought. If there was no lease and no designation of LCP, although the developer may have charged the buyer to allocate a parking stall/storage locker, the buyer may not have realized that the developer was acting as the Strata Council who can technically only grant the buyer the use of CP for a one year maximum. If this is the case the seller or the new buyer should obtain written confirmation from the strata council that the same stall or locker would be allocated to the new purchaser.