Parking Stalls and Storage Lockers in BC Stratas: Who Owns Them and Who Can Rent Them Out

"I own my parking stall" is one of the most confidently wrong sentences in BC strata living. Sometimes it is true. Often it is not, and the difference decides whether you can rent the stall out, sell it to a neighbour, keep it if the council reorganises the parkade, or claim it on your own insurance.

Storage lockers work the same way and are misunderstood just as widely. Here is how to find out what you actually have, and what each answer permits.

This article is general information about the Strata Property Act and common strata practice in BC, not legal advice. How your building's parking is held depends on your registered strata plan, your bylaws and documents registered on title. Check those, and get advice before relying on any of it in a transaction.

The four ways a stall or locker can be held

1. Part of your strata lot

The stall sits inside your strata lot's boundary on the registered strata plan. You own it in the same way you own your living room. It is included in your unit entitlement, it transfers automatically when you sell, and — subject to the bylaws — it is yours to use.

This is common in townhouse and bare land stratas with garages, and rare in concrete towers.

2. Limited common property

The stall is common property designated for the exclusive use of one strata lot. You do not own it; you have an exclusive right to use it that is attached to your unit and travels with it when you sell.

You cannot detach it and sell it to a neighbour. Changing a limited common property designation is a formal act: designating common property as limited common property requires a 3/4 vote, and removing a designation follows rules that depend on how it was created in the first place. A handshake swap between two owners does not change anything on the plan.

Limited common property appears on the strata plan, usually labelled "LCP" with the strata lot number it serves. Our guide to reading a strata plan shows you where to look, and common property versus limited common property explains what the designation does.

3. Common property allocated by the strata corporation

The stall is plain common property, and the strata corporation has given you permission to use it exclusively. The Act allows the strata corporation to grant an owner or tenant permission to use common property exclusively for a period of not more than one year, renewable, and subject to conditions — with a longer period available for parking stalls in the circumstances the regulation prescribes.

This is the most flexible arrangement and the least secure. Council can attach conditions, can decline to renew, and can reallocate. Owners in these buildings often believe they have a permanent right. They do not, and a reorganisation of the parkade is the moment they discover it.

4. A lease or licence granted by the owner developer

Some developments were set up so that the parking area is leased or licensed by the owner developer, who then assigned individual stalls to purchasers. The terms live in registered documents and in the purchase contracts, not in the strata plan.

These arrangements are the most legally intricate of the four, and they are the ones where a buyer's lawyer earns their fee. If your building's parking runs this way, do not reason by analogy from anything above.

And occasionally: a separate strata lot

A handful of BC developments create parking or storage as its own strata lot, with its own title and its own unit entitlement. If that is your building, the stall can generally be dealt with as real property in its own right — and it carries its own strata fee obligation.

How to find out which one you have

In order of reliability:

1. 1.The registered strata plan. It shows strata lot boundaries and limited common property designations. This is the primary source.
2. 2.Documents registered on title. Leases, easements, statutory rights of way and section 219 covenants can all affect parking.
3. 3.A [Form B Information Certificate](/resources/what-is-a-form-b-information-certificate-bc). The Form B discloses the parking stall and storage locker numbers allocated to the strata lot, which is exactly why buyers and their lawyers ask for it. Note it tells you the allocation, not necessarily the legal character of the allocation.
4. 4.Resolutions and council records. A 3/4 vote designating limited common property, or a council minute allocating a stall, will be in the records — which you can request under section 36. See requesting strata records in BC.
5. 5.Your purchase contract and disclosure statement, for developer-assigned parking.

What is not reliable: the number painted on the concrete, what the previous owner told you, and what the realtor's listing said.

Can you rent your stall to someone else?

This is the question that generates the most council email, and the answer follows directly from the four categories above.

If the stall is part of your strata lot, you generally have the widest latitude — but the bylaws still apply, and a bylaw restricting who may use parking, or prohibiting rental to non-residents, can be valid and enforceable.

If the stall is limited common property, you have an exclusive right of use. Whether you may license that use to someone else, and to whom, depends on your bylaws. Many stratas allow transfers between residents and prohibit rental to non-residents.

If the stall is allocated common property, the strata corporation is the one granting use in the first place, and it can condition or refuse a sublicence.

Councils have real reasons to restrict rental to non-residents, and they are worth stating in the bylaw rather than leaving to argument:

• Security. Fob and gate access for people with no other connection to the building
• Insurance and liability. Non-resident users in a parkade the strata insures and maintains
• Enforcement. A non-resident who parks badly, leaks oil or stores a derelict vehicle is harder to reach through bylaws
• Municipal requirements. Zoning, development permits or covenants sometimes require that parking serve the building's residents, and some also restrict how visitor stalls may be used

That last one catches councils by surprise. Before you decide to rent surplus visitor stalls to owners as a revenue idea, check the development permit and any covenant registered on title. It is a cheap check and an expensive mistake.

Reassigning stalls fairly

Sooner or later a council has to redo the parkade — for accessibility, for EV charging, or because the original allocation was chaotic.

• Limited common property cannot be reshuffled by council. It takes the votes and the plan work the Act requires.
• Allocated common property can be reshuffled, within whatever the strata's permission terms say — but do it by a written, published policy rather than case by case. Waitlists, tenure, accessibility need and unit size are all defensible criteria. "Who asked the loudest" is not.
• Publish the policy before you apply it. A reallocation announced at the same time as its rationale reads as a decision made to reach a result.
• Accessible stalls are a category of their own. A request for an accessible stall from a resident with a disability engages the strata's duty to accommodate under the Human Rights Code, which operates independently of your allocation policy and of what is convenient.

EV charging, storage and the parkade itself

EV charging is now the dominant parking conversation in BC stratas, and it turns on capacity rather than on goodwill. Before designing anything, know what your building can deliver — which is what an electrical planning report is for, and it is mandatory for stratas of five or more lots on deadlines that are already close. Once you know your capacity, our guide to EV charging in BC stratas covers the infrastructure and cost-allocation decisions.

Storage lockers follow the same four-category taxonomy as stalls, with two extra wrinkles. First, fire code and insurance considerations mean bylaws commonly restrict what may be stored — flammable liquids, propane, batteries, tires in some buildings. Second, contents in a locker are frequently subject to limits or exclusions under both the strata's policy and the owner's own condo policy. Read the limits in your condo owner's insurance before you store anything you would be upset to lose.

The parkade structure is common property, which means the strata corporation repairs and maintains it: the slab, the membrane, the drains, the ventilation, the gate. Parkades are also among the most expensive assets in a strata's depreciation report, and the early warning signs are visible if you look. If you have seen white deposits on the concrete, read what efflorescence means for your strata.

Enforcement, briefly

Parking is the highest-volume bylaw enforcement category in most buildings and the one councils most often handle badly, because it feels minor and personal at the same time.

The process is the same as for any other bylaw: written particulars of the complaint, a genuine opportunity to respond, a hearing if requested, and a written decision. Towing is a separate matter governed by the bylaw wording and by the practical realities of who authorised it and from where — get the bylaw right before you get the tow truck. Our guide to bylaw enforcement and fines sets out the steps that make an enforcement stick.

Frequently asked questions

Do I own my strata parking stall in BC? Only if it falls within your strata lot boundary on the registered strata plan. Most stalls are limited common property designated for your exclusive use, or common property allocated to you by the strata corporation — in both cases you have a right to use it, not ownership of it.

Can I rent my parking stall to someone who does not live in the building? It depends on how the stall is held and on your bylaws. Many stratas prohibit rental to non-residents for security, insurance and enforcement reasons, and municipal permits or covenants sometimes require parking to serve residents. Check the bylaws and the strata plan before advertising.

Can I sell my parking stall to another owner? If it is part of your strata lot or a separate strata lot, potentially yes. If it is limited common property, no — the designation is attached to your strata lot and changing it requires the votes and registrations the Act prescribes, not a private agreement.

Can the strata council take away or move my stall? If the stall is common property allocated to you, generally yes, subject to the terms of the permission and to acting fairly and consistently. If it is limited common property or part of your strata lot, no — not without the formal process.

Who repairs the parkade? The parkade structure is common property, so the strata corporation is responsible for repairing and maintaining it, funded through strata fees and the contingency reserve fund. Damage caused by a specific owner or their vehicle is a different question.

Related reading

• Common Property vs Limited Common Property in BC Stratas
• How to Read a BC Strata Plan (and Why It Settles Most Repair Arguments)
• What Is a Form B Information Certificate in BC?
• EV Charging in BC Stratas: Planning Infrastructure the Right Way
• White Stains on Your Parkade Concrete? What Efflorescence Means for Your Strata
• Strata Bylaw Enforcement & Fines in BC: How to Do It Right

Parkade allocation, EV planning and enforcement all land on the same desk. Onehive manages strata communities across Vancouver, Burnaby and the rest of Metro Vancouver — see our strata management service or request a proposal.