Help! Can a condo board make you move a car?

[tictactoe2004]

I keep one of my cars at a relatives house because they have a spare underground heated parking spot that they do not use.

I drive this car about 500-700km per year.. The car has a minor oil leak, and when I say minor i'm talking there's a six inch circle under the car from it being there for over two years (less the few days a year I drive it). Maybe 1/8th to 1/4 of a litre... maybe.. and that's over two years.

They sent a letter to the owner of the suit saying that the car is not allowed to be kept there because of an oil leak.. I know for a fact that there are many other vehicles in the parkade that have at least as big of a leak as my car.

Do I have a leg to stand on considering it's not the only car with a leak and the leak is so minor? or do they just have the power to tow the car away?

They own the condo and the parking spot, it's not a rental, if that matters.

Thanks

[Redlyne_mr2]

Take the letter and put it under your car to catch the oil.

[dj_rice]

Pretty sure they have the power, since your relatives own the condo and parking spot, it should be there car in that spot, with my condo, before I moved in, I had to give them a sheet stating my car make/model and license plate #

[sr20s14zenki]

You gotta wonder too, what little snitch decided to look under your car and report it to the condo board. Some people just have nothing better to do.

[chkolny541]

whats wrong with fixing the leak if its so minor, take some responsibility for your ill maintained car.

[Mibz]

You have no leg. All you can do is take down the others with you which makes you -that- guy.

Fix the leak or rag it to catch the oil.

[frozenrice]

Is this one of those +50 adult condos? Sometimes those old foagies have nothing better to do. On top of that there's sometimes a bit of snobbery involved.

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by frozenrice
Is this one of those +50 adult condos? Sometimes those old foagies have nothing better to do. On top of that there's sometimes a bit of snobbery involved. :rofl: so true.

Or maybe just take a jug of used motor oil and put a little 6" spot in EVERY stall in that condo... WAT WAT, wat's management gonna say now bitch.

[yue]

check to see if the letter is legitimate. my neighbors and i have gotten fake letters and tickets from weirdos at my condo claiming to be management.

[TYMSMNY]

A car that's leaking oil in an underground condo complex is not allowed. They can remove the car, clean up the mess, and send you the bill. Check under the bylaws... it's there.

[w_man]

They can force you to remove the car if the leak isn't fixed. Also they tell you to clean up the oil spill. Even though the parking spot is titled to your relatives but it's in a common area and it is your responsibility to keep it clean .. this even includes sweeping it (even though most condo boards will schedule pressure washing the parking area once or twice a year).

I had a small leak in my beater as well which was going to be too expensive to fix. I was able to talk to the management company and they let me put cardboard under my car when it was parked. I had to remove the cardboard when I wasn't parked there so I would throw it in the trunk .. problem solved.

[whiskas]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki
You gotta wonder too, what little snitch decided to look under your car and report it to the condo board. Some people just have nothing better to do.

Fucking old people with nothing better to do than waiting to die. Every condo board has them.

[03ozwhip]

clean the spot and rag the spot where its leaking, they wont say anything then.

[ZorroAMG]

Or, tape some plastic to the underneath the car once you clean up the spot...just remember to remove it before you drive it.

[scat19]

Originally posted by whiskas


Fucking old people with nothing better to do than waiting to die. Every condo board has them.

:werd:

I hate it. This one lady will hide in the underground, as I come and go during the week at the same time, to yell at me for "speeding"

And speeding, I mean, is doing 15 in a 5 zone. Have you gone 5 in your car? Just letting the clutch out it will roll at 10.

[Wildcat]

If its a titled parking spot you can tell them to go fuck themselves. Then again its not hard to put some cardboard underneath your vehicle to maintain a good relationship with your relative's neighbors.

[happydude]

From the bylaws at my building we cannot actually make you move the car, but since the vehicle is in an owner's parking stall, that owner can be fined under the bylaws for dripping oil. If the vehicle isn't moved or the problem fixed in a week, there is another fine the following week for continued contravention. The $200 fine each week can add up fast.

Also, while the condo is owned, the parking garage and all stalls are technically designated as limited common property and not private property. Thus, while you have claim and basically exclusive use to the parking stall, you must still maintain it in accordance with the condo bylaws.

[tictactoe2004]

It just bugs me because I know someone must have gone out of their way to bitch about it. The person who owns the condo has two parking stalls that are side by side in the corner of the garage... so I have a wall beside my car on one side and an empty stall on the other side.. the condo owner doesnt even own a car.

I can understand if there was something leaking out of the car and streaming from under it, but we're talking a fucking six inch circle of oil after two fucking years.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by Wildcat
If its a titled parking spot you can tell them to go fuck themselves. Then again its not hard to put some cardboard underneath your vehicle to maintain a good relationship with your relative's neighbors.

I would have been more than happy to do that but they said cardboard or anything else under the car is not allowed... and yes, it's titled.

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Take the letter and put it under your car to catch the oil.

That's AWESOME, and would be uber funny to see....

The fact is OP, that you need to see what the condo bylaws state. Whether they would have the right to get you to move your car based on the oil leak is purely dependent on whether they have a bylaw they can use to support their request.

Now, generally an oil leak on "common property" could be considered damaging it, and hence the board taking action. However, you say your relative "owns" the spot. Don't confuse being "issued" a spot with ownership. If they have an actual TITLE to that spot, then you might have a point, as it would be considered actual ownership, to which the board may or may not have any control.

If the spot is NOT titled, and is still considered common property with your exclusive right to use, then you would indeed need to do something about this as I'm sure there is a clause in the bylaws that will cover damaging their property.

edit: oops... just mentioned that spot IS titled. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure they CAN do anything. Now we're outside the realm of my own knowledge, as I have never had a titled spot on any board I've been on. :)

[tictactoe2004]

I'll look at the papers this weekend to see who the letter came from and i'll double check the ownership of the stalls. It's two stalls side by side with a personal storage area behind the stalls.

[Jeremiah]

Something is missing in this story, if the oil is leaking so very little, how would someone even notice it? And if you're all blaming the old cunt fucks, do you think they're rolling around on the ground looking at random cars for oil leaks?

Ok you rarely drive it, so when you do someone spotted it and was like OH NOS OIL LEAK THE SKY IS FALLING... it has to be a big enough blemish to upset a owner in the building, if the car is rarely used, part the beater outside.

[SCHIDER23]

Take photos of the oil stain on the driveway, don't forget to put a looney or something to compare that might help us see what the big deal is.:confused:

[Kennyredline]

If they own the condo, AND the parking spot, noone should give a shit who parks there...tell the condo board to show in writing where they have any rights over that spot.

[revelations]

I was working on my truck once IN MY TITLED CONDO underground parking stall and I spilt 3L of used motor oil.... oops - that was a mess.

But then I had one person complain to the property management that I was doing work on my vehicle in my stall - however there is nothing in the bylaws regarding vehicle repairs in your own titles stalls so the dumbass was told to f-off (he is a problem tenant).

[Mibz]

For all of you telling him to ignore it because it's a titled spot, get a clue. Just because you own the condo and the spot does NOT mean that you have complete rights over it. The condo board sets the rules and, in every case I've seen, they have by-laws in place that say you can't have a leaky piece of shit in a parking stall.

Clean up the oil. Stop the leak however you want.

[kenny]

Originally posted by Kennyredline
If they own the condo, AND the parking spot, noone should give a shit who parks there...tell the condo board to show in writing where they have any rights over that spot.

Doesn't matter if they own the unit and parking spot or not. Condo owners must abide by the Condo bylaws, and many have rules governing parking spots and what you can or cannot do and often this includes oil leaks.

Condo life sucks if you have an anal condo board that enforces every rule they have.

[ZorroAMG]

^This.

Title or not, you HAVE to abide by the bylaws and restrictions of every condo complex.

It's like having a house, you can't let the grass grow tall without a fine, can you? "But I OWN the propertyyyyyy....." WGAF, the bylaw officer will still fine you.

Tape a catch can to the leak and move on with life, after you clean up the spot. Cardboard is visible on the ground, looks like shit and will still give them cause to complain. Tell them you "fixed" the leak and do as above if you don't have the time or money to actually fix it.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by Jeremiah
Something is missing in this story, if the oil is leaking so very little, how would someone even notice it? And if you're all blaming the old cunt fucks, do you think they're rolling around on the ground looking at random cars for oil leaks?

Ok you rarely drive it, so when you do someone spotted it and was like OH NOS OIL LEAK THE SKY IS FALLING... it has to be a big enough blemish to upset a owner in the building, if the car is rarely used, part the beater outside.

I drive the car in the summers and leave it at my house for the summers.. I just park it at the condo in the winter and have been doing so for the past 5 years. The only possible thing I can think of is the car gets dusty when it's there for six months and the hood is after-market and hasn't been painted yet..

The owner went just this morning and looked at the oil under the car and said that it is literally half a cup of oil and found numerous other cars that have as much or more oil under them.

Someone is just bitching because the car gets dusty and has an unpainted hood and they for some reason have nothing better to do than bitch about it. That is the whole story to the best of my knowledge.

[bulaian]

you should just go and clean the oil spot and wash your car and repark it there again...

if it barely drips oil, then they won't even notice the small spots that will reform under it, for a while

[ZorroAMG]

Are you even READING what we are posting? Take our advice or stop posting about this trivial shit.

[happydude]

Originally posted by kenny


Doesn't matter if they own the unit and parking spot or not. Condo owners must abide by the Condo bylaws, and many have rules governing parking spots and what you can or cannot do and often this includes oil leaks.

Condo life sucks if you have an anal condo board that enforces every rule they have.

Werd.

Even if it is a small leak, they may be enforcing it to set precedance rather than simply to be assholes. If the condo board doesn't enforce a bylaw for say, two years, then does try to enforce it they can run into problems where residents can legitimately say, "you never enforced it before so you can't enforce it now."

I've read of at least one case where a woman had a cat in a 'no pets' building for a year or two with no problem, the condo board tried to enforce it later on and got shut down in court after the woman contested the fines and eviction.

[top_speed]

Originally posted by scat19


:werd:

I hate it. This one lady will hide in the underground, as I come and go during the week at the same time, to yell at me for "speeding"

And speeding, I mean, is doing 15 in a 5 zone. Have you gone 5 in your car? Just letting the clutch out it will roll at 10.
lol.... you should do the same thing when she is leaving at midnight and just sneak up on her and scream as loud as you can, your speeding!!!!! and then she if continues doing it, that is only if she is still alive:rofl:

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
Are you even READING what we are posting? Take our advice or stop posting about this trivial shit.

Are you fucking serious? Calm the fuck down.

[SCHIDER23]

why don't you buy one of those carcovers for indoor use, that way the tenants don't have to see your unpainted hood, and is way easier to clean the cover once a month.:thumbsup:

[Iqoair]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
Or, tape some plastic to the underneath the car once you clean up the spot...just remember to remove it before you drive it.

Or a diaper.. Serious :P

[kenny]

Originally posted by tictactoe2004


I drive the car in the summers and leave it at my house for the summers.. I just park it at the condo in the winter and have been doing so for the past 5 years. The only possible thing I can think of is the car gets dusty when it's there for six months and the hood is after-market and hasn't been painted yet..

The owner went just this morning and looked at the oil under the car and said that it is literally half a cup of oil and found numerous other cars that have as much or more oil under them.


95% chance theres a new member on the condo board that wants to flex their muscles. Probably the same person that was a hall monitor in elementary. :rofl:

The owners of the other parking stalls with leaky cars have probably been notified as well. Tough times, even condo boards have to do a little fishing for extra revenue by collecting fines :)

[GTI_Fahrenheit]

The owner of the unit that the stall is registered to has no leg to stand on (if the by-laws are even half assed with a monetary sanction provision).

Fix your car or move it. If the stall is owed vs. leased then they (condo corp.) can't tow the car (that is the major difference between owned/leased) but they can and should issue you a daily fine (most can go upwards of $10,000/day - for real pricks) and then move to evict the owner (yes owners can be evicted for breaching by-laws on a regular basis). Be thankful that it is only a fine. The condo corp. should slap a fee against the owner to have the stall professionally cleaned (since it is clearly an ongoing leak) if the spot remains after the annual (I hope) parking lot cleaning.

Imagine if you wanted to buy a unit in that building and saw oil spots littering the parking lot... may make you think twice about how clean the condo corp. (which are owners) keep the building.

Here is an idea... why don't you pay the fine, fix the car, let the Condo Corp. know it is fixed and report others that have a leak.

p.s. don't pick a fight with the condo board unless you (can win, which you can't) are prepared to pay all the legal fee's that come up.


Originally posted by tictactoe2004


I drive the car in the summers and leave it at my house for the summers.. I just park it at the condo in the winter and have been doing so for the past 5 years. The only possible thing I can think of is the car gets dusty when it's there for six months and the hood is after-market and hasn't been painted yet..

The owner went just this morning and looked at the oil under the car and said that it is literally half a cup of oil and found numerous other cars that have as much or more oil under them.

Someone is just bitching because the car gets dusty and has an unpainted hood and they for some reason have nothing better to do than bitch about it. That is the whole story to the best of my knowledge.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by GTI_Fahrenheit
Here is an idea... why don't you pay the fine, fix the car, let the Condo Corp. know it is fixed and report others that have a leak.

There is no fine yet. I'm just going to clean it right now because it will take a month or two before another drip even comes out... I just don't want to move the car to my house right now because it's a modified mustang with 3.73 gears and z rated summer tires... not safe to drive right now. I'll move it at the end of march or beginning of april and fix the minor leak.

The only reason I was pissed about this whole thing is because none of the owners of leaky cars were sent anything.. Just my relative.

[GTI_Fahrenheit]

Let the condo corp. know that you are cleaning it out - unless they are pricks it should keep them at bay.

Point out the other vehicles to them - pictures are great if you provide a CD.

[barmanjay]

Car cover + big drop sheet

drive on drop sheet,.. pull up then car cover overtop

case closed ;)


Condo (the titles) = you only own shares in the corp and those specific shares are assigned a unit number that is still governed by the condo corp.

same goes for titled parking spaces

[googe]

Originally posted by GTI_Fahrenheit
Let the condo corp. know that you are cleaning it out - unless they are pricks it should keep them at bay.

Point out the other vehicles to them - pictures are great if you provide a CD.

This sounds like a douchebag move to your neighbors but is actually a good idea. This will get half the building pissed off at the douchebag condo board, and they'll think twice about if it's REALLY worth fighting the community over.

Especially try to get pics of leaks in stalls that are owned by condo board members :)