Condo resident parking in visitor spot

[Je5ter]

OK quick question for you guys here. I'm an owner of a unit in condo complex which therefore am part property owner of the common areas ie: hallways, rec room, visitor parking lot etc. Me and my gf have two vehicles, one of which we park on the street most of the time and the other in my owned parking stall. Now parking is tight and the condo board only allows each unit 4 visitor passes per month, of which I usually use for my own vehicle when I can't find a spot on the street. There is the odd occasion that I forget to email Westpark to tell them that I will be using one of my visitor passes to park in the visitor lot over night and they sometimes give me a ticket. Now it being WEstPark I don't really care about them and don't pay them obviously but now they said that if I don't pay their parking "tickets" that they could tow me from a lot that I'm part owner of and that they don't even own?? Is this possible??? I know that I need to abied by the condo rules and am fully aware that I could possibly get fined from my condo board but can WestPark legally tow my vehicle from from the visitor parking lot that I'm part owner of and when it comes down to it make me pay their tickets? If it came down to it I"d take them to small claims court. Anyone know the answer to this??

[Disoblige]

Of course they can tow you. Why don't you settle the tickets instead and explain to them what happened?

Oh wait, you can't because you're not following the rules in the first place as per what your condo board states.

Man, people these days...

[Je5ter]

I wouldnt be so sure of that. Like I said I can see if the condo board wants to fine me thats fine but I fail to see how Westpark can tow a car from a lot that they do not own on which my car is parked on that I do partly own?

[FraserB]

You're part owner of fuck all, you own the unit and that's it. You're knowingly breaking the rules by parking your own car in the visitor spot (pass doesn't matter, go read the condo rules) and Westpark has a contract with the condo board to ticket and tow vehicles with no pass.

You'd lose any small claims motion inside of five minutes.

[Disoblige]

Who do you think decided to hire Westpark to manage the condo parking? Think man, think.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by Je5ter
I wouldnt be so sure of that. Like I said I can see if the condo board wants to fine me thats fine but I fail to see how Westpark can tow a car from a lot that they do not own on which my car is parked on that I do partly own?

The condo board has a contract with Westpark to ticket and tow any vehicles that are deemed to be unauthorized. A vehicle parked in a visitor stall without displaying the proper permit or parked there in a manner that violates the terms of use is subject to penalty. There will be multiple signs stating that it is private property and cars are subject to ticket and tow at owner's expense.

[Cos]

.

[codetrap]

So.. there's one minor thing here. If your car is currently parked legally, then they probably can't ticket/tow you. I highly doubt they have the ability to effectively "seize" your car for outstanding tickets with them without a court order. That being said, if they catch you in violation, they can start the ticket/tow process which is effectively game on. Same would go if they forfeit your parking stall and deem your vehicle unauthorized in general.

In short, I'm pretty certain they have to catch you in the act to ticket/tow you.

[Je5ter]

Ok I realize that they can tow my car now if I don't have a valid pass, I should have clarified that could if they could tow me if I have a valid pass on my car now?

And thanks for the info I didn't think of that when selling my place, I'll call the property manager and sort it out.

[FraserB]

Yes, they can tow your personal car (or that of any resident) if it is parked in a visitor stall. You are not allowed to park there, pass or no pass. If they do catch you, they can take their visitor passes back as well since you don't own those. "Authorized" is the key term here, for your situation "legally" doesn't matter.

[lilmira]

Sell one car, buy a house.

[frizzlefry]

They can for sure tow you. While you are the owner you still have to abide by rules placed on the property. IE just because I own my condo does not mean I can but a propane BBQ on the balcony if its a law.

There were are couple of parking spots in my building that are large enough for two cars. Don't know why, just how they ended up being made. The condo board issued a warning that despite two cars fitting, you can only park one car as per code or condo rules or something. Pissed people off because they pay higher property tax on the larger spot but can't use the extra space. So it is 100% their property but the board can still dictate what can go in it. They go after people with a car and a bike in one spot too.

So if they can do that with something that's 100% yours, don't see why they can't dictate what goes in something you "own" 0.5% of.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by Je5ter
Ok I realize that they can tow my car now if I don't have a valid pass, I should have clarified that could if they could tow me if I have a valid pass on my car now?

And thanks for the info I didn't think of that when selling my place, I'll call the property manager and sort it out.

I talked to my wife about this, (real estate paralegal) and her unqualified answer is "It depends on what you agreed to when you bought the place." It's possible they can if you've agreed to the rules where your outstanding tickets cause your vehicle to be declared unauthorized.. then it's game on.

As Cos says, they're the management company, and they'll withold the estople on you which will screw you on the sale of the unit. It's better to deal with them and resolve it.

Originally posted by frizzlefry
So if they can do that with something that's 100% yours, don't see why they can't dictate what goes in something you "own" 0.5% of.

I think with condo's its not that you actually own something physical, but that you own the air space confining the boundaries of the home.

[speedog]

Had to laugh, OP was new user as of today, probably came in quite smug and left not as much so.

[Je5ter]

No I'm still here and just wanted a few honest opinions and from a few I got them, thanks

[Cos]

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[FraserB]

Originally posted by Cos

but if you park ANY vehicle there for more than 3 days in a calendar month we ticket/tow.

Question about this. Does this mean that if I have 3 different people visit me on the first 3 days of the month, a pass registered to my unit can't be used for the rest of the month? Or that the same person can only visit 3 times in a month?

[codetrap]

Yeeesh.. I'm so glad I didn't buy a condo. So many horror stories of condo boards having gestapo like powers and micro-controlling tenants.

[Je5ter]

Originally posted by FraserB


Question about this. Does this mean that if I have 3 different people visit me on the first 3 days of the month, a pass registered to my unit can't be used for the rest of the month? Or that the same person can only visit 3 times in a month?

Yes you get 3 passes per month (4 in my place) so yes you can only have 3 people visit you one time a month or 1 person visit you 3 times a month.. Otherwise you're stuck and all alone the rest of the 28 days.

[Toma]

Originally posted by codetrap
Yeeesh.. I'm so glad I didn't buy a condo. So many horror stories of condo boards having gestapo like powers and micro-controlling tenants.

No shit. And completely unbelievable the city would issue develolment permits with only one parking stall per unit. Crazy.