Paying for Car Parking in a Bangalore Apartment: Where the Law Draws the Line
When a Bangalore builder's quotation lists a parking charge, a buyer can reasonably ask what is being purchased. Slots in a project's parking areas are limited, and a price of Rs. 1 Lakh or higher for one slot is not unusual. This article describes which kinds of slot a builder may price as property, which it must treat as shared, and how a promised slot can be made enforceable.
A Quick Reference Table
The legal position of the common slot types is summarised below.
| Slot type | Can it be sold on its own? | Who runs it after handover |
|---|---|---|
| Open ground in the compound | Cannot be sold, being a common area | Owners' association |
| Stilt level under the building | Cannot be sold, being common under a 2010 Supreme Court ruling | Owners' association |
| Garage with a roof and walls on three sides, marked in the sanctioned drawing | May be sold as a unit by itself | Whoever bought it |
| Guest slots | Cannot be sold, being reserved for visitors | Owners' association |
Basement and podium slots are harder to classify, since most are roofed but not walled. A recorded allotment is a safer way to hold them than an outright purchase.
Reasoning Behind the Table
The 2010 Nahalchand Laloochand decision of the Supreme Court is the main authority on stilt parking. The justices treated it as part of what residents share, and as it is neither a flat nor a garage, a promoter cannot sell it alone. The facts came from Maharashtra, but the reasoning on shared areas is relied upon in other states.
The statute backs this up. The RERA Act of 2016, applied in Karnataka by the state authority, includes open parking in its list of common areas, together with play areas, parks, terraces and basements. It describes a garage as a place with a roof and walls on three sides, which rules out open and uncovered ground.
What Lies Behind the Separate Charge
A slot near the lift is valuable, and there are rarely enough for everybody. A builder who prices parking apart can also publish a lower headline price for the flat. Passing on the cost of constructing parking through the home's price is allowed, whereas charging a sale price for open or stilt ground is the practice to resist.
Turning a Promise Into a Right
In a carefully run project each home receives a numbered slot through the agreement for sale or an allotment letter. The slot is visible in the sanctioned drawing and the RERA filings, and its number is repeated in the sale deed.
Under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972, a deed of declaration names the common areas and the limited common areas set apart for specific homes. If the slot is entered against the flat in that deed, the association must honour it. At handover, when residents take over the common areas, a slot mentioned solely in a brochure or chat message has little force.
Documents That Settle Most Disputes
These six papers are worth collecting before any money is paid for parking.
- A sanctioned drawing marking every slot, with the visitor slots identified.
- The slot number for the flat, entered in the contract of sale.
- The nature of the slot, such as open, stilt, basement, stack or garage.
- The label used for the parking charge in the quotation and the receipt.
- Where the slot is a mechanical stack, the party that pays for repairs and running.
- The declaration deed, with the slot recorded against the flat.
Families with two cars should check the second slot too, since many projects allot only one per home unless asked. Written answers are easiest to get from a builder early in the process.
Recourse for a Buyer Who Has Paid
A buyer charged a sale price for open or stilt ground can approach the Karnataka RERA authority with a complaint against the project. The quotation, receipts and agreement go with it, and a refund with interest can be ordered on a finding that the charge is unlawful.
The strongest position, though, is before signing. Raise the point with the developer then, and many will agree to include the charge in the price of the flat or to record the slot properly. A property lawyer can check the parking clauses together with the remaining terms.
Parking in the Full Cost of Ownership
Besides parking, the base price attracts stamp duty, registration, GST, clubhouse fees and deposits. In Karnataka, a home above Rs. 45 Lakhs pays 5% stamp duty, which is 5.6% with cess and surcharge, along with 2% for registration. When looking at new apartments in Bangalore, set full quotations side by side and ignore the headline numbers.
The EMI calculator then gives the loan instalment and the money needed at the start. A developer can supply the quotation and parking plan of any project on request.
