Parking space problem

d-a-s-h

Ok has anyone else found that when your living in an apartment block with two double rooms, an allocation of one car parking space per apartment is a bit ridiculous?

My girlfriend and I have a car each (sadly a necessity caused by both our jobs).

Recently a shop has opened up and with it, marked off a fairly large area that will now be clamped if cars are parked in it for longer than three hours at a time. This has caused many of the people who used to park there to start parking outside our block instead. As a result my girlfriend struggles to find a space, if at all.

After a few days of everybody parking everywhere (including one lady who left her 4x4 in the middle of the road one night), we awoke to find double yellow lines being drawn all around the place, resulting in even less parking.

I was just wondering can anybody think if there is any responsibility by the management company to provide more car parking spaces?

Zaph

I think this is probably better off in the Accommodation & Property forum as it's a more general issue.

Moved from D15 forum.

d-a-s-h

Thanks very much Zaph

Atlantic Dawn

It will be set by rules with the management company as to how many spaces per apartment. Maybe see if a neighbour has no car and could arrange you to have their alocated space?

Paulw

d-a-s-h wrote: »

I was just wondering can anybody think if there is any responsibility by the management company to provide more car parking spaces?

No, there is not. There is an obligation on the developer to provide parking as per the planning permission.

1 space per unit in many developments is not unusual at all.

The amount of parking would have been outlined in the Lease Contract (or title deeds) when buying the unit.

In modern developments, it's often a case that there is less parking than cars, since some units have 2-3 cars when they only have a single parking space per unit.

smcelhinney

d-a-s-h wrote: »

As a result my girlfriend struggles to find a space, if at all.

Lol, good to see chivalry isnt dead after all..

On a more serious note, are you renting or have bought? Either way, it'll be in your contract with the management co. My gut feel is that you'll be met with a firm no, and that the management co wont be obliged to provide extra spaces.

Any local car parking facilities that may be able to offer you a competitive overnight rate?

athtrasna

We have a 3 bed with one space. But we knew that when we bought. We're not entitled to any more and have to deal with that. You seem to know you're only entitled to one space but think you should have two anyway because you have two cars?

To stop non-residents parking the Management Company could bring in a permit system but that's not going to help your second car issue. If you're renting then I would suggest moving rather than trying to break the rules.

Terri26

I live in a 3 double bed house and there is only one spot. Yes I agree it is ridiculous but it was in the contract when the house was bought. Luckily I only rent but it is one of the reasons I dont want to buy in a new dvelopment

Cookie_Monster

I agree with the two previous posts, you should have checked lease and dealt with it. However that the situation can even arise in the first place is a bit silly. There should be a minimum number of space per apt based on number of rooms. Its pretty likely a two bed apt will need two or more spaces or that a three bed 3. In theory a 3 bed apt could have 3 couples and 6 cars (over the top but possible). It just another case of the developer failing to provide proper facilities to apartment dwellers when all these builds went up.

For me it was a key question when looking to rent, if there weren't two spaces available then we crossed it off the list regardless of anything else.

d-a-s-h

athtrasna wrote: »

You seem to know you're only entitled to one space but think you should have two anyway because you have two cars?

I think that if you look over my post I was actually asking the question that if management remove/reallocate some on street parking whether or not they have any obligation to add some as well.

Obviously with free for all on street parking not everyone, everywhere could be guaranteed a space all the time.

I was NOT asking for another allocated spot for the missus.


As cookie monster puts it;

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

In theory a 3 bed apt could have 3 couples and 6 cars (over the top but possible). It just another case of the developer failing to provide proper facilities to apartment dwellers when all these builds went up.

I have no problem that they don't have any obligation, and this was known before hand, I was simply questioning whether or not I had issue for complaint... I don't :rolleyes:

jd

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

It just another case of the developer failing to provide proper facilities to apartment dwellers when all these builds went up.

Not necessarily the developers fault - there is usually a restriction on the number of parking spaces as one of the conditions in the planning approval.

Cookie_Monster

jd wrote: »

Not necessarily the developers fault - there is usually a restriction on the number of parking spaces as one of the conditions in the planning approval.

:rolleyes: restriction on maximum rather than insistance on minimum, good old backward Ireland

athtrasna

It's usually the other way round actually. There is a minimum ratio for parking spaces to units in a development. In ours is 1.6 per unit but that includes guest parking.

Chinafoot

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

. In theory a 3 bed apt could have 3 couples and 6 cars (over the top but possible). It just another case of the developer failing to provide proper facilities to apartment dwellers when all these builds went up.

And equally they could have one couple with one car. Its not unheard of. I don't think developers build complexes with renters in mind. They build them in order to sell them and usually 3 couples with 6 cars don't buy a 3 bed apartment together.

Its unrealistic to expect more than one space for each unit if it is a large complex. There is only so much space that can be allocated for a parking lot, which in most complexes is underground.

OP, I don't think you have any grounds for a complaint. You have your allocated parking space which is no doubt outlined in your lease/contract. On-street parking or lack thereof is not the concern of the management company.

In our own complex we have seen plenty of people advertising their space for rent. You could even put a sign up in the lobby of your building to say you are looking to rent a space. You might be surprised.

jd

athtrasna wrote: »

It's usually the other way round actually. There is a minimum ratio for parking spaces to units in a development. In ours is 1.6 per unit but that includes guest parking.

Sure there is a minimum, but there definitely guidelines regarding the maximum, particularly in urban areas.

BostonB

d-a-s-h wrote: »

...I was just wondering can anybody think if there is any responsibility by the management company to provide more car parking spaces?

What can the management company do about it?

rainbowtrout

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Its pretty likely a two bed apt will need two or more spaces or that a three bed 3. In theory a 3 bed apt could have 3 couples and 6 cars (over the top but possible). It just another case of the developer failing to provide proper facilities to apartment dwellers when all these builds went up.
.

You could also apply that logic to houses though. The vast majority of houses built in estates are probably 3 bed semi detatched, but they are not built with space for 6 cars. They are built with families in mind not renters and I'd say the same of 3 bed apartments. The reality of apartment living in this country is probably a lot different that that though.

Cookie_Monster

Chinafoot wrote: »

Its unrealistic to expect more than one space for each unit if it is a large complex. There is only so much space that can be allocated for a parking lot, which in most complexes is underground.

why. If its underground then its easy (though not cheap) to build numerous floors as required with little impact on any aspect of the development.

All the apartment in our complex have at least two spaces (apart from the 1 beds). And there are about 1/3 again visitor spaces, still only just enough as both surface and underground car parks are full. All spaces are earmarked or have visitor written on them too.

BostonB

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

why. If its underground then its easy (though not cheap) to build numerous floors as required with little impact on any aspect of the development....

Isn't that the answer? Money.

You make less money from parking spaces.

copacetic

BostonB wrote: »

Isn't that the answer? Money.

You make less money from parking spaces.

No, in the development I'm in they weren't allowed to give more than one space and weren't allowed to build underground parking either. Planners generally don't want much parking as it drives traffic volumes, they want people on public transport. Often planning restricts parking.

Of course it doesn't work as everyone still has the cars just nowhere to leave them

BostonB

Money and planning restrictions then...

BostonB

The planners haven't a clue what they are doing. There is no to logic to the planning decisions I see around the place. It seems to pander to big developers, and make token guestures to what ever it topical at the moment.

Paulw

BostonB wrote: »

Money and planning restrictions then...

Money - you would need all the shareholders to fork out a large sum each, for extra parking to be built. I'm sure it would cost a few thousand per unit (depending on size/scale).

Planning permission - twice as hard to get when a development is already built, especially for a large body of work, like building further underground parking.

Really, the idea is fairly unrealistic.

Cookie_Monster

copacetic wrote: »

Planners generally don't want much parking as it drives traffic volumes, they want people on public transport.

but there is none basically so this can't really work

L5

Your in the Phoenix park racecourse apartments OP?
That shop opening is a joke, they've taken about 20 on street parking spaces and they clamp anyone who parks illegally. Saw someone take an angle grinder to a clamp last week here, fair play to them. What else can you do when the mgt company take away spaces leaving literally nowhere to put your car except halfway up on a path etc

BostonB

Its not just appartments either. A lot of new Housing estates were built with no space for on road for parking, and short driveways. As a result people park on the pavements. Its not uncommon for a house to have 4 to 6 people in it and 4 cars, but only space for two.

copacetic

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

but there is none basically so this can't really work

oh, I agree it can't work, but it is the planners that force it. Where I am had no public transport at all for 3 years after being built, but they had limited all 2/3 bed apartments to one surface space and all 4/5 bed houses to 2 anyway..