Recently, a lot owner in a large complex with a basement carpark had an issue regarding their car park space which had been allocated to their lot as an exclusive use area (EUA). They were parking their mobility scooter at the rear of the area where they parked their small car. Both the car and the mobility scooter were parked within the boundary of the EUA allocation. There had been complaints that this practice was making it difficult to access an adjacent common area where bicycles and motor bikes were permitted to be parked. The lot owner noted that they could well have had a very large vehicle which would have caused the same impact as the two smaller vehicles.
No by-law was being contravenved through their action since the relevant by-law was only specific that the space be used for ‘parking’. Provided that both the car and the scooter fit within the allocated EUA space, our advice was that a lot owner should be permitted to use the space for this purpose. Even though there is restricted access to the designated bicycle and motorcycle parking area, it should not be expected that access be granted via a lot owner’s exclusive use area.
In prior cases, such as Las Rias [2022] QBCCMCmr 167, adjudicators have held that crossing a lot owner’s EUA to access another area infringes on the lot owner’s exclusive rights to the space.
The body corporate is now exploring alternative solutions to address the issue.