CigarFox

Are apartment complexes required to have sufficient parking for tenants?

My husband and I live in an apartment complex where parking has always been somewhat of an issue. He left last night at about 8:30pm to get a pack of cigarettes at the gas station across the street. When he came back his parking spot was gone and there was nowhere to park. He drove around the complex twice and there wasn’t a single spot to park. He ended up parking on the curb which is a fire lane. We have parked here and so have others and have never been towed. This morning when he was leaving for work his truck was gone and it turns out it was towed. So now he has to pay the towing fee. The complex has told tenants that there are enough spots for two vehicles per apartment. Are apartment complexes required to have sufficient parking for tenants? What can I do about this? Is there anyone I can contact to report this?

Apartments are not required to have “enough” parking, they are required to have a specific number of parking spaces per unit or bedroom, depending on the local authority. Unless those parking spaces are assigned, they don’t care, nor do they have a requirement to see to there being a parking space available for someone.

Furthermore, if the apartment building was built prior to the implementation of the current building codes [i.e. the parking requirements] and so they do not have enough spaces, they were probably considered grandfathered under the old laws and still deemed legal. That, again, depends on the local authority.

In other words, there is not much that can be done in this case other than complaining to the office. That does not require them to do anything, but a sufficient rouse about it on premises or with letters to the editor could raise local awareness enough so as to force reaction for fear of losing tenants.

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