Q&A: Can Owners Corporation lease out visitor parking spaces? (NSW)

A LookUpStrata reader, who works as a building manager in NSW, wanted to know whether the owners corporation can lease out additional visitor parking spaces to a retail lot owner, and what the correct process would be to establish such an arrangement.

In summary, the fact that this concerns visitors parking complicates this matter. Whereas the Owners Corporation usually has the authority to lease out common property by special resolution, the visitor car parks must be used for that bona fide purpose. If the OC leases it to the retail lot owner, this would prevent other visitors to the scheme from parking there.

What the Owners Corporation could do is review the development consent for the building. In our experience, the sometimes a building has more visitor parking spaces than council stipulates as being required. In that case, the Owners Corporation could sell (by way of a strata plan of subdivision and transfer) or lease the “additional” car space for valuable consideration.

In other words, the development consent will determine how many visitor car spaces must be reserved for this purpose.

There is no restriction on the Owners Corporation to sell, lease, licence, grant exclusive use of common property for profit provided the Owners Corporation adheres to the processes outlined in the strata legislation. You will require a range of motions to be passed by special and ordinary resolution, forms will need to be executed, agreements etc drafted by a specialist strata lawyer. So, if the Owners Corporation has an extra car space, it is at liberty to profit from it.

As for leasing from an individual lot owner, this is acceptable too.

You can read the original question, and our full response by following this link.