OMC won’t move my parking space from under vent where people discard drinks. What can I do?

I have been an owner-occupier of an apartment for almost 20 years. One underground parking space came with my apartment. My space is under an open vent that has a mesh covering on top of it. Unfortunately for me, teenagers and others repeatedly pour liquid down on to the cars. The developers here also planted trees above the space in the last few years and the soil from the trees is picked at by birds and frequently lands on my car too.

I have raised this issue many times with the management company. They have told me that all measures have been taken to prevent this, referring to the mesh covering etc, but that doesn’t work.

They have told me I cannot move spaces due to this space already being registered as mine on the Land Registry. My space number was originally F26 and that is registered in the Land Registry. A few years ago, they did up the car park and renumbered some spaces, and mine was changed to F23. To the best of my knowledge, no paperwork was filed with the Land Registry to reflect this change.

They have offered that I can buy a new space for €10,000 plus VAT.

Is there anything I can do legally if my property is constantly being damaged by third parties?

Firstly, it is important to clarify that the ownership and legal entitlement to a car parking space is, in the first instance, a property law and conveyancing matter, and I would strongly recommend that you consult your solicitor to establish precisely what legal rights attach to your apartment and its associated parking space. Your solicitor will clarify this matter for you.

Ordinarily, when an apartment development is constructed, the property developer’s solicitor prepares the legal documentation governing the sale and transfer of the individual apartments and their associated rights, including parking spaces. It is generally at the conveyancing stage, when the apartment is purchased, that the purchaser’s legal entitlement to a particular parking space is established.

Depending on the legal arrangements put in place by the developer, a parking space may be held under a separate legal title, included within the apartment’s title, or allocated through rights granted under the apartment lease. These distinctions are important because they determine the nature of your entitlement and whether any subsequent alteration can lawfully be made.

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An owners’ management company (OMC) does not ordinarily have the authority to simply reallocate or exchange privately owned parking spaces, particularly where the spaces are specifically identified in the legal title documentation. Any such alteration may require formal legal documentation, the agreement of the relevant parties and, where applicable, amendments to the registered title.

The second issue concerns the repeated damage and interference affecting your vehicle. While the OMC is generally responsible for the management and maintenance of the common areas of the development, this does not automatically mean that it is legally responsible for damage caused by the deliberate actions of third parties. However, there is an important distinction between damage arising from the actions of third parties and a situation where the design of the common areas may be contributing to an ongoing and foreseeable problem.

As you are also a member of the management company, just like the volunteer directors, you can become active in the solution to the problem. You could make recommendations to the board of directors about any further practical measures that could reasonably be implemented to prevent liquids, soil and other materials from falling through the ventilation opening on to your vehicle.

The fact that mesh has already been installed does not necessarily mean that every reasonable preventative measure has been exhausted. It may be worthwhile recommending to the directors to obtain independent technical advice on whether an alternative protective arrangement could be installed without compromising the ventilation, fire safety or other statutory requirements of the underground car park.

My recommendation would therefore be to address the matter on two separate fronts: firstly, have your solicitor clarify your legal entitlement to the car parking space and whether any alternative arrangement is legally possible; and secondly, formally request that the OMC investigate whether additional reasonable measures can be taken to address what appears to be a persistent and long-standing problem.

Aisling Keenan is a property managing agent, consultant and an associate member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

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