Storm in a carpark

IN 2002, an owner of a penthouse in Cairnhill Mansion estate, Madam Djie Tjoe Nio, went to the Strata Titles Board (STB) to claim her rights to its carpark.

She was paying higher maintenance contributions than the other owners.

She claimed she always used two parking spaces in particular to park her Rolls-Royce next to her Volvo. On occasions when other owners occupied the parking spaces she used, she would complain to security guards who would then summon the home owners to remove their cars.

The management council, however, contested this claim.

At the estate's annual general meeting in 1992, the majority of owners voted for a resolution to allocate specific parking spaces to individual home owners. The council later rejected Madam Djie's request for an additional parking space.

Madam Djie wanted the STB to, among other things, declare the by-law for carpark allocation null and void, given that the resolution needed unanimous approval to have legal status. She also claimed damages for her loss of the use of one parking space.

The management corporation conceded that the resolution to pass the carpark by-law was null and void as it did not receive unanimous approval.

The board, however, ruled that the parking scheme was against the principle of co-ownership. The management corporation could not reserve a space or prevent a home owner from parking in an unoccupied one. Parking had to be on a first come, first served basis.

Madam Djie withdrew her application for damages.

Source: Straits Times, 1 Aug 2009