40 Health & Wellness to:: ay Z0 I 4

DO YOU KNOW WHO OWNS IYOUR CONDO PARKING SPACE? I

,

Co lier Eclition

By Rebecca M. Vaccarielio

Ifyou live in a condominium, the question ofwho owns your parking pace, in addition tothe questions of who is entitled to use it and

who is required to maintain it, may not be as easyto answer a you would think. Problems oftenarise when the common practice of condominiumowner's conflict with what the condominiumdeclaration provides, and eventually a triggeringevent causes the conflict to come to light. If youdo not know who owns your parking space, whois entitled to use it, and who is required tomaintain it, you should learn the an wcrs to the equestions before a conflict arises. Preemptivelyhandling these issue can mean the differencebetween maintaining the status quo as you knowit, or being forced into an arrangement, years afterbuying your condominium that you did not thinkyou were buying into.

1. Who Owns Your Condo Parking SpaceThe most common answer to this question is thatthe condominium association owns your parkingspace. It is possible for a condominium owner toown their parking space, and in this instance itwould have been deeded to you and you would bepaying taxes on it. The declaration should be clearin this instance that the parking pace i notowned by the association. Even if you own yourparking space, there are often limitations ontran fer of condominium parking pace doneseparately from the transfer of the unit, and youshould be aware of this if you are consideringselling your parking space separately, or buying aparking space separate from a condominium unit.

More commonly, the condominium parkingspaces are either limited common elements orcommon elements and they arc owned by theassociation. A "common clement" may be usedby any of the unit owners and it i defined byFlorida law very broadly as "thc portion of thecondominium property not included in the units."Florida Statute 718.103 (8). A limited commonelement is for the use of specific owners and isdefined by Florida law as "those commonelements which are reserved for the use of acertain unit or units to the exclusion of all otherunits, as specified in the declaration." FloridaStatute 718.103 (19). The first place to look when

determining the nature of your parking space is thedeclaration. In some instances, the declaration willcontain a diagram where parking spaces that arclimited common clements arc noted with the unitnumbers that correlate to specific parking spaces.

Common Problems and Issues That AriseSome of the common parking space issues that arisearc attempted transfers of parking spaces in viola-tion of the condominium documents; maintenancecosts of limited common clements being assessed tounit owners who do not share in the limited commonclements; and general misunderstandings as to thestatus of ownership and rights to use parking spaces.The declaration is one of the most important docu-ments to consult to determine the proper status ofcondominium parking spaces. Florida law providesthat "[t]he exclusive right to use such portion of thecommon elements as may be provided by the decla-ration, including the right to transfer such right toother units or unit owners to the extent authorizedby the declaration as originally recorded, or amend-ments to the declaration adopted pursuant to the pro-visions contained therein" passes with each unit.Florida Statute 718.1 06(2)(a).

2. Who Is Entitled to Use Your CondoParking SpaceIf your parking space is a limited common clementthat is re erved for your unit alone, then you are theonly person who can use the parking space. This iof course also the case if you own your parkingspace. If parking spaces arc common elements, thenany unit owner can park in any space.

Bottom LineIf you arc unsure about the status of your condo-minium parking space, it is something that you maywant to have clarified before a problem arises.Problems often come to light when a new ownerenters the building and has had an attorney scruti-nize the condominium documents prior to theirpurchase, or when a dispute arises as to who has theright to park where and an investigation en ues. Ifyou are able to identify inconsistencies with historicuse and the condominium documents ahead of time,you may be able to have the condominium docu-ments amended accordingly.

3. Who Is Required to Maintain Your CondoParking SpaceIn situations where the association owns parkingspaces, the association may pay for the maintenanceof the spaces and assess the owners for the co tsaccordingly. Florida law provides that "[tjhe decla-ration may provide that certain limited commonclements shall be maintained by those entitled to usethe limited common clements or that the associationshall provide the maintenance, either as a commonexpense or with the cost shared only by those entitledto use the limited C0111monelements. If the mainte-nance is [0 be by the association at the cxpen c ofonly those entitled to use the limited commonelements, the declaration shall describe in detail themethod of apportioning such costs among thoseentitled 10 use the limited common clements ... "Florida Statute 718.113 (I).

This Article does not constitute legal advice and may not be reliedupon CIS such. Each individual j; facts and circumstances fire dif-ferant. tfyou have lilly questions regarding your particular sima-tion, please consult with legal counsel.

If you have a limited common clement parkingspace, it is often the case that the unit owners entitledto use the spaces will be assessed for the mainte-nance cost of the limited common clements. If youare in a condominium property that does not haveparking spaces for all the unit owners, and you are aunit owner that docs not have a parking spaceassigned, you should ensure that you arc not respon-sible for payment of maintenance of parking spaces.

r----- ..•.Rebecca M. Vaccariello

Rebecca M. Vaccarieilo'spractice focuses 011 business,probate and general civil liti-gation. ~1s. Vaccariello islicensed 10practice Ian>ill thestates of Florida and NewYork. Prior to joining Salva-tori, Wood, Buckel, Carmichael

& Lottes, Ms. Vaccariel/o served as a judicial Ian>clerk to a civil trial judge ill New York for over jiveyears, and, prior /0 that, worked for SL,( years ill IIgeneral practice litigation firm ill New York.

Satvatori, Wood, Buckel, Cannichael & Lottes239.552.4100 Iwww.swbcl.com

_____________________ www.swfHealthandWellness.com ---------------------