parking - what's fair?

[wellthisisinteresting]

Myself and my partner live in a complex of flats and houses with allocated parking on the site. We don't have a car at the moment and don't need one. Most people who visit us get the train and there are car parks all around.

Some people who have just moved in have 2 cars and have offered to pay to use our space. Now, for me I would just say, what the heck, use it. However the people who want it and my partner are all very much on the lines of it being a paid agreement.

So, what kind of number do you think is fair?

Depends where it is. Maybe £10 per month? Then, if you do get a car you only need to give them a months notice.

What's the going rate for parking in your area?

Have you thought about getting something in writing to make it clear that it's an arrangement that exists until such time as you need the space back?

Not that I'd charge the going rate - I'd charge a % of that.

No idea what the going rates would be but I agree to definitely get something in writing so you can terminate the agreement if and when you want your space back

Guessing there's no nearby free parking? I'd shoot for £50 a month personally.

Just make sure that you have some form of contract. So it ends with a month’s notice if you change your mind or want to sell.

Charge for it or it could be one a free for all!

Do you own your property, or rent?

Argh, typo, become a free for all with randoms parking in it.

Some friends of mine sold their unwanted parking allocation, all legal and above board, for 10 grand....

I suppose the charge would depend on your location. If parking is at a premium and you are somewhere where parking is extremely expensive, the rate would be higher.
I would be more worried about possible cases of adverse possession in the future though so it all needs to be done properly if you go ahead.

If you sell the space and then at some point decide to sell your flat then you could reduce the value of your property. I think I'd be wary of selling an asset I couldn't get back.

I’d definitely make it a more formal rental agreement with a contract because then you’re less likely to end up in a difficult CF situation if you ever decide to get your own car and want the space back. £10 per week maybe?

In this instance it didn't reduce the price of their flat at all when they came to sell -- some flats had parking spaces, others did not and the value of their property had risen during their ownership, so they actually did ok.
But I appreciate it's all down to market forces!

Sorry, to clarify we're in a city center but not a major one like London. To park every day would probably be quite pricey, I 'm guessing £5-10 depending on where and how long.

A bit of extra money is always welcome, especially if someone is offering it very willingly. I just don't want to be a grabby so and so.

We rent and the arrangement would be ongoing and not forever so to speak.

I suppose I'm just asking if you had a second car what kind of price would you think was reasonable and fair.

Are you actually allowed to do this if you rent, it not being your space and all?

@SiobhanSharpe sounds like a good deal!

Also to add the parking here is enclosed and secured, so a random would struggle to park there. Although it has happened!

@StrangeCondition to cut a long story short, yes. However, I can see why it wouldn't be ok in some situations.

£50/month sounds fair to me.

But I guess you would technically be sub letting. Is this allowed?

Rent it out for sure and have an agreement. If you don't make it formal with even a nominal £ then I think you'll find it harder to deal with if/when you need the space back. Make sure to detail notice periods.

I think you should find out the going rate of parking spaces around you and make it a bit cheaper? but please make thoroughly sure you're allowed to do this, I would even go as far as to get it in writing as you could be fined heavily by your landlord / estate agent / whoever else for renting out space that isn't yours / subletting.

@Tdcp I hear what you (and others) are saying and I'll have a double check. Our LL is a very odd person tbh and the things that do and don't bother them are fairly random. But good point, I'll make everything clear to them.

We do this - we have a house with no parking in a town centre but next door to us is the car park for a block of flats. One of the flats is let to a tenant who doesn’t have a car, so we rent it from her on a monthly rolling basis. Her landlord is fine with it - he actually lives on our road too and suggested it.

We pay £25 a month, which we suggested based on the cost of an annual parking permit in our town according to the council (our road is too narrow to put in resident bays, but if it wasn’t we’d be paying the council ~£300 a year for one, so it seemed fair to match the cost). We pay monthly so that both sides can revoke the agreement at a month’s notice if needed.

One thing we did clarify is that she retains the right to use the visitor parking bays, because obviously she has people coming to see her and it’s not fair that she deals with the inconvenience of no parking in that scenario. If we have guests we generally move our car to the nearest unrestricted parking area (which is about 10 mins walk away) and get guests to park in ‘our’ space.

From experience these things are always more hassle than they are worth. Personally I'd just say use it if it's free but be mindful we can change our mind at any time and it's still very much our space.

£50.a month definitely