Condo Media - May 2019 - 28

SPACE JAM

How these
problems play
out in individual
communities
depends in part
on the rules they
enact and on how
parking spaces
are allocated.

T

There are three allocation options,
Patrick Brady, a partner in Marcus,
Errico, Emmer & Brooks, explains,
and the governing documents should
specify one of them (but don't always).

DEEDED, usually through an
easement that gives owners
the exclusive right to use
them for a specified purpose-parking.
Under this structure, the spaces are
assigned to a unit, typically conveyed
with it, and in Boston, they are taxed
as an addition to the unit's value.
But the spaces aren't owned by the
resident; they are part of the common
area controlled by the board, and with
good reason: Ownership of the space
would allow residents to use it for
almost any purpose, Brady explains.
"They could build a garage, a storage
shed or a stable for their horses."
As part of the common area, parking
spaces are governed by the board,
which can restrict how they are used.

1

If residents owned
their spaces, "they
could build a garage,
a storage shed or a
stable for their horses
[on them]."
ASSIGNED by the board
under a license to owners.
Boards can claim reasonably
that their control of the common area
gives them the authority to assign
spaces, but it is best, Brady says, if
that authority is specified in the
governing documents. Silence on
this point, he says, "creates an open
question about the board's authority."
Unlike easements, which create fixed

2

28

CONDOMEDIA May 2019

property rights, licenses are flexible,
Brady notes. The board can't revoke an
easement or reassign a deeded space,
but it can assign and reassign licensed
spaces as needed. For example, to
provide a space closer to an entrance
for a handicapped resident-an issue
we'll discuss later in more detail.
UNASSIGNED. Brady describes
this option as "the wild west."
Owners can park wherever
they choose on a first-come basis.
The greater the mismatch between
cars and available spaces, the "wilder"
the parking scene will be. Boards can
avoid, or at least reduce, the tensions
this mismatch will create by limiting
the number of cars owners can park,
specifying owners are not allowed to
park in spaces designated for visitors,
and providing "overflow" parking, if
space permits, to accommodate, as
much as possible, owners who have
multiple vehicles.

3

Parking can be a problem even
in communities where the ratio
between units and parking spaces
seems reasonable, Pat Brawley,
CMCA, AMS, PCAM, principal
in Central Management and
Consulting Services, has found.
In one community she managed, owners had one or two
assigned spaces for each unit.
The problem here was that a
three-bedroom unit was rented
to three college students, each of
whom had a car, leaving one of
the tenants without an assigned
space. The unit owner assured
the tenant that he could either rent a
space from another unit owner (which
turned out not to be possible) or park
in a guest spot, which was not always
possible because the guest lot was full
or because snow removal limited the
available spaces. When the tenant
complained, Brawley says, "we told him
that guest parking wasn't intended to
provide an every-day space for him,
and that he should address the issue
with his landlord."
Condo Media - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - May 2019
