Operations2026-06-20 · 9 min read

Parking Rules in a Housing Society: Allotment, Charges and Disputes

Plinth

Parking rules in a housing society

Parking generates more sustained ill-feeling in Indian housing societies than money does. Maintenance disputes are settled by arithmetic. Parking disputes are settled by whoever has been parking there for eleven years and considers the space theirs.

Almost all of it traces to one misunderstanding: most residents believe they bought their parking slot, and in law they usually did not.

This page covers who actually owns the space, how allotment is supposed to work, what a society may charge, and how to handle the disputes that follow — including the two-car problem that every society eventually faces.

Bye-laws and state legislation vary and are revised periodically. Confirm your society's position against its registered bye-laws and the applicable state act before acting on any of this.

Who owns the parking slot

The foundational point, and the one that resolves most arguments.

Stilt and open parking spaces in a housing project are ordinarily common areas belonging to all members collectively. The Supreme Court held in Nahalchand Laloochand Pvt Ltd v. Panchali Co-operative Housing Society (2010) that a developer cannot sell stilt parking as an independent saleable unit — it forms part of the common areas that vest in the society. Later decisions have distinguished enclosed garages and separately constructed covered parking, but the general position for open and stilt parking is settled.

What this means in practice:

A member does not "own" their slot. The society allots the use of it.
A member cannot sell, let or transfer a parking slot independently of the flat.
A builder's allotment letter promising a numbered space does not override the society's authority to re-allot once the society is formed and the common areas have vested in it.
On sale of the flat, the slot reverts to the society and is re-allotted to the incoming member — it is not part of the consideration between buyer and seller.

Committees frequently avoid saying this out loud because it is unpopular. Saying it early, in writing, is considerably cheaper than saying it during a dispute.

How allotment should work

The managing committee allots slots; the general body sets the policy under which it does so. A defensible policy has these features:

Every slot numbered and physically marked, with a register mapping slot to flat. If the society cannot produce that register, it has no basis to resolve any dispute.
One slot per flat before any member gets a second. This is the core fairness rule and the one that prevents the worst conflicts. Second slots are allotted only from genuine surplus.
A transparent method where demand exceeds supply — lottery, or seniority of membership. Publish the method before you run it, not after.
Periodic re-allotment, typically annual or on a stated cycle, rather than permanent occupation. A slot held continuously for a decade starts to feel like property.
Reserved visitor parking, kept genuinely free. Societies commonly reserve a proportion of total spaces; whatever you choose, protect it, because visitor parking is the first thing to be quietly annexed.
Accessible slots near the entrance reserved for residents with disabilities and, in many societies, for senior residents. This should not be a lottery item.
Two-wheeler space allotted separately from four-wheeler space.

Under the Maharashtra model bye-laws, the committee allots parking on the basis the general body approves, and members who are allotted a slot are liable for the charge whether or not they use it — which is the standard answer to "I do not own a car this year."

What a society may charge

A society may levy parking charges as fixed by the general body. Three constraints:

A general body resolution is required. A committee cannot set or revise parking charges on its own authority.
The charge must be uniform for comparable slots. Differential rates between covered and open parking, or between first and second slots, are acceptable if the general body has adopted that structure and it applies to everyone.
It must be levied as parking charges, shown as its own line on the bill, not folded into general maintenance.

Charging a higher rate for a second slot is common, defensible, and usually wise — it prices the scarce resource and funds the society. Charging a higher rate to tenants than to owners for the same slot is not defensible.

Societies sometimes try to auction surplus slots to the highest bidder. This is legally awkward, because it moves from allotting common property to trading it. If your society is considering it, get a written opinion first.

The disputes, and how to settle them

Someone is parked in my slot. The register decides it. This is why the register must exist and be current. Escalation should be to the committee, in writing, not to a confrontation at 11pm.

Two cars, one slot. The most common structural problem. The answer is policy, not case-by-case mercy: every flat gets one, surplus is allotted by the published method at a higher rate, and members without a slot are told honestly that the society does not have space rather than being left to hope.

Visitor parking is permanently occupied by residents. Enforce it or abolish it. A visitor bay that is always full teaches residents that rules are decorative, which then affects everything else.

A resident parks a commercial vehicle. Most bye-laws permit the society to restrict commercial vehicles, oversized vehicles and long-term stationary vehicles in common parking. Put the restriction in the parking policy rather than inventing it when someone parks a tempo.

Abandoned vehicles. A car that has not moved for months occupies a scarce slot. Serve written notice on the member, keep proof of service, allow a reasonable period, and only then act under the policy the general body has adopted. Do not tow or clamp without a documented basis — societies have been held liable for damage.

EV charging. Increasingly the live issue. A member cannot run a cable across common areas or draw from a common meter without permission. The society should adopt a policy covering who pays for the point, whose meter it draws on, and what happens to the installation when the member sells. Several states now encourage or require provision for EV charging in residential parking — worth checking your local building rules before refusing outright.

City-wise notes

Mumbai and Pune. Co-operative housing societies under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, with model bye-laws covering parking allotment and charges in detail. The Nahalchand decision arose in this jurisdiction, and stilt parking is firmly a common area. Space is scarcest here, so the one-slot-per-flat rule matters most.

Delhi NCR. Registered co-operative group housing societies fall under the Delhi Co-operative Societies Act, 2003; RWAs in builder colonies are typically under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Gurugram and Faridabad condominiums come under the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act; Noida and Ghaziabad under the UP Apartment Act, 2010. Builder-allotted covered parking sold with the flat is a recurring source of dispute here — the documentation at handover decides it.

Bangalore. Apartment associations under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972, or registered societies. Association bye-laws usually deal with parking expressly, and larger complexes commonly run structured allotment with paid second slots.

Hyderabad. Telangana apartment and co-operative legislation, with gated communities frequently operating on builder-drafted bye-laws inherited at handover. Review them rather than assuming they are fit for purpose.

Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 1994, and association bye-laws under the state societies legislation.

Wherever you are, the practical hierarchy is the same: the state act, then your registered bye-laws, then the general body resolution, then the committee's allotment. A committee decision that conflicts with any layer above it will not survive challenge.

Writing a parking policy that holds

Get the general body to adopt a short written policy covering: how many slots exist and where; the allotment method and cycle; one-slot-per-flat before second allotment; charges for first and additional slots; visitor parking reservation and enforcement; accessible parking; restrictions on commercial and oversized vehicles; the abandoned-vehicle procedure; EV charging; and the process for raising a dispute.

Three pages is enough. Circulate it with the AGM notice, adopt it by resolution, and publish it. Most parking conflict is not caused by scarcity alone — it is caused by scarcity plus the belief that allocation is arbitrary.

How this works on Plinth

Slots are recorded against flats in a register the committee and residents can both see, so "who is allotted A-14" has one answer rather than several.

Allotment changes are recorded rather than remembered, second-slot allocations and their charges carry through to the maintenance bill as their own line, and vehicle details are held against the flat so the gate can identify a vehicle without a phone call. Because parking charges are a charge head like any other, a general body resolution revising them flows into billing without a parallel spreadsheet.

Every allotment and change is written to the society's append-only audit log — which is what turns a long-running parking argument into a matter of record.

Frequently asked questions

Can a builder sell a parking space in a housing society? Not as an independent unit, for open and stilt parking. The Supreme Court held in Nahalchand Laloochand (2010) that such spaces are common areas vesting in the society. Enclosed garages constructed as separate units have been treated differently.

Do I own my parking slot? Almost certainly not. You have an allotment of a common area from the society, which the society can re-allot under its policy. It cannot be sold or let separately from your flat.

Can the society charge for parking if I do not own a car? If a slot is allotted to you, yes — liability generally follows allotment, not use. Surrender the slot formally if you do not want it.

Can a society refuse a second car? Yes, where slots are scarce. One slot per flat before any second allotment is the standard and defensible rule.

Can the society tow or clamp my car? Only under a policy the general body has adopted, with notice and a documented basis. Societies have been held liable for damage caused by clamping or towing without authority.

Who decides parking charges? The general body, by resolution, on the committee's proposal. Not the committee alone.

Can tenants be allotted parking? Yes. The allotment attaches to the flat, and a tenant in occupation ordinarily has the use of it. Charging tenants more than owners for the same slot is not defensible.

Step-by-step guides

Get Plinth in your inbox

Monthly digest of governance tips and product updates.