Unable to park

Mistral001

andycris3107 wrote: »

I actually rent while most of my neighbours own. Those who bought property did so with an 'allocated parking space' while those who rent also have the same. However in order to USE that allocated parking space we need to pay additional maintenance of £1800 per year.

Again it is probably all to do with planning permission. The properties have to have car parking available, but that probably does not mean that the car parking space is part of the property itself. Remember it is likely that there are quite a few residents who do not have cars and it could be argued that they should not pay for the maintenance/rent of an underground car parking space they do not use.

EmmyLou30

Think of it from the permit holders POV....they have say 200 cars between them in that zone and probably only 200 spaces. If all your flats were allowed to park in their permit zone you'd be stealing their spaces and it's really more theirs than yours by rights as you rent a flat knowing there's no parking - your choice. No way the council should let you in on the resident parking zone. You do have access to parking spaces, you choose not to pay for that access. They have to pay for their residents parking permits too, just not £1800!

I would have thought as a tenant that was all part and parcel of the rent - a flat with a parking space rents easier and for more money than one without - presumably you rented it knowing it didn't have a space and one would cost you extra per month. I think I'd pay £35 a week rather than walk 20 minutes!

I would also suggest as residents you maybe club together as a group and petition the company that runs your car park....surely a full car park at a cheaper rate to encourage the uptake would be better than the ridiculous number of empty parking spaces they currently have?

andycris3107

To clarify a few points:

All flats have an allocated parking space. During development access and use of the parking spaces was free as no management agent had taken over the development. Everyone was informed that when a management agent was appointed that there would be a charge and though some complained it was pointed out that there are certain things such as cleaning the car park and lighting etc which were not covered under the normal maintenance fee. It was indicated that the additional fee would be a nominal fee charged monthly or yearly. For example the neighbouring developments charge £189 per year per space. Once the development was complete a management agent took over and applied an annual maintenance fee of £1800.

The neighbouring permit zones are under subscribed. They are not designated by road but by marked zones encompassing several roads. many of the buildings on the roads have houses with driveways hence there is never a shortage of space. On the contrary the zone nearest to me is always practically empty. It is so empty in fact that recently the council installed pay and display meters so that the zones could be used by non residents in order to better utilise the space. Even with this I would only have to walk 2 minutes from my flat to find a dozen empty spaces on any day.

There is a combined effort by the residents to have the managing agent removed due to the prices applied when they took over but to do this more than 50% of the owners would have to agree to buy the leasehold. As a tenant rather than an owner I have no say in this.

Sounds like you're in luck then. Move when the contract is up, live and learn.

Definitely an option but having moved here not too long ago and upheaving my kids (change of country, change of school etc) another move is a big deal.

If you need parking live somewher with adequate parking, walking twenty minutes isn't a hardship at all.

Sorry but I feel that's a very shortsighted comment. With two young children the 'inconvenience' of parking 20 minutes away is a huge pain. Doing the shopping is a nightmare.

mattyprice4004

GwylimT wrote: »

Anyone parking on the street (unless using numbered bays) will not be parking at their hone postcode, it isn't at all an unusual situation.

You are aware that a post code covers more than one house, yeah?

Strider590

EmmyLou30 wrote: »

surely a full car park at a cheaper rate to encourage the uptake would be better than the ridiculous number of empty parking spaces they currently have?

Could say the same thing for the rates on all the closed and boarded up shops in town, lower the rates and get more businesses in, but the landlords it seems would rather have empty buildings going to waste (some for well over 5yrs now).