Respected Sir/Madam, I am a member of a newly formed cooperative housing society, which was earlier managed as a condominium. I wish to seek your guidance on the issue of additional car parking charges. Background: Our society has a total of 6 7 additional parking slots. For the last 5 6 years, around 5 6 members have been using these slots for their second cars without any charges. Recently, the new General Body Meeting (GBM) resolved to levy ?1500 per month per vehicle for second car parking. While members agree that some reasonable charge should be levied, this amount seems very high compared to nearby societies, which charge only ?400 ?500 per month for second cars. Concerns: Model Bye-Law No. 84/85 empowers the GBM to fix parking charges, but the law also requires that charges be reasonable and linked to maintenance/security costs, not punitive. Since parking spaces are common areas, they cannot be sold or exploited for profit. Fixing ?1500/month appears excessive when compared to the prevalent rates in nearby societies, especially when free slots are still available. The decision appears motivated by the fact that most members have only one car and therefore approved higher charges for others, without fair consideration. My Queries: Is there any upper limit prescribed under Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society laws for additional car parking charges? Can the GBM s decision of charging ?1500/month be legally challenged as unreasonable? What remedies are available to members (such as approaching the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies) if the GBM refuses to reconsider? Kindly provide clarity and possible remedies on the above issue. Regards
Dear Ashok, For 1st car parking, how much rent per month is charged you didn't state in your query. Kindly state that, and resend your query.
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