[sustran] Important parking ruling by India's Supreme Court

[Paul Barter]

Yesterday there was an important parking ruling by India's Supreme Court.  My question is: Does it outlaw 'parking unbundling'?

India's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that developers cannot sell parking spaces as independent real-estate units. The court ruled that parking areas are 'common areas and facilities'. This upholds an earlier Bombay High Court ruling. 

I fear that this ruling may be misunderstood to mean that unbundling of parking has been forbidden completely. Some may even claim that charging for off-street parking has been outlawed.

But I would argue that India's Supreme Court has ruled out only ONE KIND OF UNBUNDLING. It forbids the option of buying and selling parking separately as real-estate. 
 
For example, managing parking as 'common areas' is compatible with having a system of parking permits for tenants. These can be priced of course.  Managing parking as 'common area' is also compatible with deciding to charge visitors for parking, which would be most relevant for commercial complexes.

See http://www.reinventingparking.org/2010/09/important-parking-ruling-by-indias.html for more information.

Any thoughts on this from India? Have I interpreted this ruling and its implications correctly?

Paul


Paul A. Barter | Assistant Professor
LKY School of Public Policy | National University of Singapore
469C Bukit Timah Road | Singapore 259772
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