Can Your Developer Sell You Parking Space?

Forty-five-year-old banker Ramesh Kumar had bought two parking lots in a Ghaziabad society three years ago, but is filled with buyer's remorse. “I was among the first buyers who had bought an apartment in this upcoming society. The developer had told me that I should buy the parking space because the price would go up at a later stage. As I was getting the parking lots at a throwaway price of Rs 50,000 each, I 'bought' three of them with a plan to sell them off to another member at a higher cost.”

Unfortunately, Kumar cannot sell the parking lots because it is illegal to do so. And, he is paying the heavy price for his ignorance. In big cities and metros where space is at a premium, developers often hoodwink gullible homebuyers with these tricks. PropGuide tells you about your rights as a consumer.  Can a parking lot be put on sale? No. The car parking is a part of the society's common area which cannot be sold. The developer has no right to charge for this space. In 2010, the Supreme Court had held that developers had no right to sell parking to apartment-owners, including stilt parking or garages.  You have 'bought' a parking slot. Can you keep it? As the sale of parking lot has become illegal, its 'purchase', too, has become invalid. In January 2016, the Delhi High Court had ruled in favour of one parking per flat. The court held that parking should be permitted in areas specifically meant for that purpose and not in the other common areas.  Will you get your money back? As the law restrains developers from selling parking spaces, they have developed a clever way to evade rules. They now don't charge separately for the parking space but have included it in the cost of the property sold. However, if the buyer-seller agreement mentions car parking as a separate item, or the buyer can produce other evidence of having purchased it, he can challenge the developer.  Is it mandatory to provide parking space? Whenever a developer has to develop an area, he has to take development permission and commencement certificate from the authorities concerned. To get these approvals, he has to mandatorily submit a building plan, which includes area earmarked for parking. The model building byelaws of the Ministry of Urban Development mandate the presence of parking space in housing complexes.