Visitor parking bays in sectional title schemes
By Carryn Melissa Durham
In this Carryn’s Corner article I would like to address the contentious topic of visitor parking bays in sectional title schemes.
It’s no secret that parking creates many problems in sectional title schemes. This is especially the case in older schemes that were built in a time where not many people owned cars. Nowadays families have at least two cars. The limited availability of parking bays in sectional title schemes has put great pressure on visitors’ parking bays.
There is nothing in the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 (“the Act”) or prescribed rules that specifically deals with visitor parking bays or that defines what visitors parking bays actually means. Prescribed Conduct Rule (“PCR”) 3(1) states 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. This prohibition does not apply to any visitors’ parking bays. Visitor parking bays is not a condition that is dealt with in any of the scheme documentation because it forms part of the relevant town planning ordinance. Therefore the requirements for visitors parking is a local municipality town planning issue.
For example, the City of Cape Town zoning scheme regulations states that: “Visitor parking bays shall be clearly demarcated, readily visible and accessible to visitors and preferably grouped together.”
Furthermore the City of Cape Town zoning scheme regulations set out the required number of visitors’ parking bays – one visitors’ parking bay per four units.
In terms of section 37(1)(n) of the Act, the body corporate must “ensure compliance with any law relating to the common property or to any improvement of land comprised in the common property”. This means that the trustees must, on behalf of the body corporate, ensure that this regulation is adhered to. While in practice the visitor parking bays may be used by residents, the trustees are not entitled to give any resident permission to park in such a bay or let these parking bays out in terms of a lease agreement. Furthermore the trustees cannot give exclusive use rights to any owner over a visitors parking bay.
In practice, the local municipality does not usually react to contraventions of the town planning scheme except of the basis of complaints. In my experience, I have visited the building survey and town planning department in Cape Town and could not obtain a clear answer on the application of the zoning scheme regulations.
So what can be done to deal with the use of visitors’ parking bays then?
If the scheme does not have sufficient off-street parking to serve the needs of the residents and there are unallocated parking bays on the common property, the trustees should take and record in the minutes of their meetings a parking policy that set out the rights and obligations of residents in their use of these bays. Notice of this resolution should be posted on a notice board on the common property or otherwise communicated to all residents. Furthermore owners may in terms of section 39(1) of the Act give trustees directions as to how they should control parking on the common property. Some schemes have rules on how many nights per month a visitor may stay over. Some issue a limited number of overnight parking tokens to residents for the use of their visitors.
Where schemes do not have sufficient parking bays I suggest that, if there is unused open space, the trustees initiate the creation of additional parking bays. It will be a non-luxurious improvement to common property, and the process set out in PMR 33(2) for a non-luxurious improvement will need to be followed.
If you have experienced any problems with visitor parking bays in your scheme please contact me at consulting@paddocks.co.za.
Image source: myparkingsign.com
Thinking Inside the Box 
Can the trustee rent out visitor’s parking’s to owners/tenants . Why must owners visitors pay to visit the families.
Hi Johan,
Thank you for your comment. We would love to help, however we do not give free advice. Here’s how we can help:
– We offer consulting via telephone for R490 for 10 minutes. Please call us on 021 686 3950.
– We have Paddocks Club, an exclusive online club, to help you get answers to your questions about community schemes.
Kind regards,
Paddocks
Hi there. I wonder if you are able to assist us.
We live in a complex with about 350 units.
We have lived here for 8 years. In the past we managed by moving our cars around between the visitor’s bays and our bay assigned to our unit.
The last year the management company became very strict and are no longer allowing us to use those bays.
We have been fined R500 each time we use the visitor’s bays.
We really want to comply but there is no off street parking. We have been instructed by security to park outside across the road. It is not a parking area, but across a very busy rd and during peak hours it is impossible to cross this road. There is no pedestrian crossing. The cars are parked less than 1 metre from this busy rd.
Many of us who park there have received traffic fines as it is illegal to park there.
So whether we park in the visitor’s bays or outside on the side of the road we will be ticketed.
We had a meeting with the trustees and the managing company and according to them they are looking into making 30 visitors bays available in the next few months to the highest bidders.
It might be out of if reach if can’t afford to bid.
It will still leave us with a problem as we would like to park outside but there is nowhere legal and safe to park.
Any advise will be highly appreciated.
Regards
Canita
Hi Canita,
Thank you for your comment. We would love to help but unfortunately do not give free advice. Here’s how we can help:
– We offer a Free Basics of Sectional Title 1-week short course. You’ll be able to ask your course instructor any related questions. Find out more here.
– We offer consulting via telephone for R390 for 10 minutes. Please call us on +27 21 686 3950.
– We have Paddocks Club, an exclusive online club, to help you get answers to your questions about community schemes. Find out more here.
Kind regards
Paddocks
In a complex with 99 cottages (2 bedroom) which are rented by tenants, we have 99 shaded parking bays (a project recently finalized). The shaded parking bays, being part of the lease, is paid for by the tenant. As tenants we would like each cottage to be allocated a specific parking bay since it has not been allocated. Parking is on a first-come-first-served basis and it is creating problems since tenants are fighting. Would it be possible for the parking bays to be allocated (say bay 1 to cottage 1) without restrictions from regulations or laws regarding specified distances between the cottage and the parking bay? The parking bays are alongside the driveway in die middle of the complex from entrance to back with cottages built in rows of 5 at each side. Allocation of these bays will therefore have to start from front to back since cottages are numbered from 1 – 99 from front to back.
Hi Hettie,
Thank you for your comment. Please email us on consulting@paddocks.co.za with regards to your matter, and we can provide you with a no-obligation quote, so that we can assist you.
Kind regards,
Paddocks
Hi, I have an apartment in Campsbay. The trustees have recently removed a part of the garden and converted it to visitors parking area without notifying all owners. It appears that they wanted some of the existing parking for themselves. They also replaced the existing parking with much more expensive paving bricks. Our parking was tarmac, which needed maintenance. Question: 1) May they do thus without a unanimous vote? 2) Would this be luxurious improvement?
Thanking you in advance for your reply
Willy
Hi Willy,
Thank you for your comment. Please email us on consulting@paddocks.co.za with regards to your matter, and we can provide you with a no-obligation quote, so that we can assist you.
Kind regards,
Paddocks
Nice Sharing! Its a greatest information about insurance blog and it is very usefully for parking info. I am gain information from this blog.
I would be very interested in your reply to Robert’s problem with tenant parking as above. Please consider publishing so that we can all learn from it. Thank you
Hi Alice,
Robert’s question is too complex, so we are unable to answer it here.
Regards,
Paddocks
I actually meant covering topic it in an published article.
Hi Carryn,
In a BC complex of 18 in KZN we have a lot of rented units. We have a problem with parking – there is mostly only one garage linked to a unit and not sufficient provision made by the developer for parking of extra vehicles per unit as well as visitors parking. The open areas marked for parking is unallocated. The owners of units have placed in the leases that there is parking for two vehicles per units and now want the Trustees to allocate specific parking bays to those units. That stipulation in the leases should not have been done and what course of action can the Trustees take or rule ? It so happens that the unit owner is also a Trustee.
Hi Alice,
There are a number of ways for parking bays to be allocated to unit owners, and thereby be placed for use by the tenants. For example the conduct rules could contain a parking plan, the parking bays could be rented out; or the parking bays could be made subject to exclusive use. If supply cannot meet demand the trustees might need to consider creating new parking bays if there is space (a lawn area for example).
Thanks,
Paddocks
Hi
I have a tenant who has 5 cars on site and 10 people in a two bedroom unit, three of which sleep in a caravan in the garage. He is violating many rules and now I have sent him letters in this regard and he says we are victimizing- and invading his privacy.Sent many letters without any response, even the owner does not care.He parks his cars just were he wants , even under others carports.looks like tenants have more rights than owners. How do i manage this guy?
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your comment. This is quite a complex matter and suggest contacting us on consulting@paddocks.co.za or 021 686 3950, for an obligation-free quote.
Regards,
Paddocks
I am chairperson of a small block of 9 flats in Fresnaye. It was built in 1936 when vehicles were the size of dinky cars. There are only 7 parking bays with no room for any more, leaving 2 flats without secure parking. Under the CCC Zoning Scheme Reg and in order to comply with Section 37(1)(n) are we now supposed to “convert” 1 or 2 of these exclusive use parking bays into visitors bays?
Hi Ann,
We cannot confirm exactly what City Council will require. However, it seems impractical that the owners/tenants would have to park outside so that bays can be left open for potential visitors.
Regards,
Paddocks