A buyer in Whitefield was handed a price sheet with a line that felt normal because everyone seemed to accept it: a separate charge of a few lakh for a car parking space, on top of the flat. She almost paid it without a second thought. What she did not know is that for open and stilt parking, a builder generally cannot sell that space as a separate saleable unit at all, and the cost is supposed to already sit inside the flat's price. The charge was not a service. In many cases it is money for something the builder was never entitled to sell.

The short answer. Open and stilt parking spaces are treated as common areas and generally cannot be sold by a builder as independent units. The Supreme Court held in the Nahalchand Laloochand case that stilt and open parking are not flats and cannot be sold separately, and under the real estate law open parking is classified as a common area whose cost should be included in your flat's base price. The trade off to understand is that a covered garage that is properly sanctioned in the plan may be sold, but a loose charge for open or stilt parking is one you are entitled to question.

What did the Supreme Court actually decide about parking?

The Supreme Court decided that stilt and open parking spaces are not separate flats and cannot be sold as independent units. In the well known Nahalchand Laloochand case in 2010, the court held that a stilt parking space, even if covered, is not a flat within the meaning of the law and therefore cannot be sold by the developer as a standalone unit. The reasoning is that these spaces are part of the building's common areas, which belong collectively to the owners, not to the builder to trade.

For a buyer this is the anchor. It means that when a builder tries to sell you an open or stilt parking slot as a separate purchase, the sale of that slot as an independent unit does not have the legal footing many assume. The space is meant to be part of the shared infrastructure of the building, not a product on a price list.

How does the real estate law treat parking?

The real estate law builds on the same idea by classifying open parking areas as common areas. Under this framework, open parking areas must be shown in the layout but cannot be sold separately, and their construction cost is expected to be included in the base price of your flat rather than charged again on top. Builders are, in effect, not meant to sell open parking or levy a separate allocation fee for it, because you have already paid for it inside the flat price.

Covered parking is where the nuance sits. A properly defined and sanctioned covered garage may be sold, but only where it is clearly identified and approved in the sanctioned plan. So the question a buyer should ask is not simply whether parking is being charged, but what type of parking it is and whether it is a sanctioned covered garage or an open or stilt space being dressed up as a saleable unit. For how areas and loading are defined more broadly, our guide on carpet area versus super built up area is a useful companion.

Why does this distinction matter to your money?

Because a separate parking charge can quietly add several lakh to a purchase for something you may already own a share of. When open or stilt parking is a common area, its cost is meant to be inside your flat price, so a separate charge risks making you pay twice, once in the base price and once as an add on. Over a large project, these charges add up to significant sums that are not always backed by a right to sell.

There is also a longer term consequence. Because common area parking belongs collectively to the owners, decisions about its allocation are ultimately matters for the owners association, not permanent private property carved out by the builder. Our guide on the apartment owners association explains how common areas are meant to be held and managed once the building is handed over.

This collective ownership is also why parking disputes are so common in Bengaluru apartments years after possession. When a builder has informally sold or allotted open and stilt spaces to individual buyers as if they were private property, later residents discover there are more sold parking claims than spaces, or that a resident who paid extra has no stronger legal claim than a neighbour who did not. Because the spaces are legally common, the association usually has to step in and set a fair allocation policy for everyone. A buyer who understands this early is less likely to overpay for a private right that may not survive contact with the law once the association takes over management of the building.

What is the difference between a garage and open parking?

The difference is whether the space is a sanctioned, enclosed unit or part of the shared common area, and the law treats the two differently.

Reading a price sheet with this table in mind changes how you respond to a parking line. If it is a sanctioned covered garage clearly identified in the approved plan, a charge may be legitimate. If it is an open or stilt slot being sold as a separate unit, that is exactly the arrangement the courts and the law have looked at critically.

What should a buyer do about a parking charge?

Ask three questions before you accept any parking charge. First, what type of parking is this, open, stilt or a sanctioned covered garage. Second, is it identified and approved in the sanctioned building plan as a saleable unit. Third, is its cost already included in the flat base price you are paying. The answers determine whether a separate charge stands on solid ground or is simply a customary levy the builder expects you not to challenge.

Because this area involves genuine legal nuance and evolving practice, a buyer who is being charged a large separate amount for open or stilt parking should get the specific arrangement reviewed by a property lawyer before paying. A well documented development such as Abhee at Sarjapur should be able to show clearly, in its sanctioned plan and allotment, exactly what kind of parking is being offered and on what basis.

How should a Bengaluru buyer use this knowledge?

Use it to move parking from an unquestioned line item to a documented one. You are not trying to win a fight at the sales desk, you are trying to understand what you are paying for and whether the builder has the right to sell it. Ask for the parking type and its treatment in the sanctioned plan in writing, and treat a large separate charge for open or stilt parking as something to verify rather than simply accept. Informed buyers ask, and asking is what protects the money.

None of this means you should refuse a parking space you genuinely need. In a dense city a dedicated slot has real practical value, and every buyer wants the certainty of a place to park. The point is narrower and more useful. Understand what the law says the space actually is, insist that the arrangement is documented in the sanctioned plan and the agreement, and make sure you are not paying a large separate premium for a common area you have already funded inside the flat price.

Your seven step parking charge checklist

1. Identify whether the parking offered is open, stilt or a sanctioned covered garage.
2. Ask whether the space is defined and approved as a saleable unit in the sanctioned plan.
3. Confirm whether the cost of open or stilt parking is already inside the flat base price.
4. Remember open and stilt parking are treated as common areas, not separate flats.
5. Recall the Supreme Court held stilt and open parking cannot be sold as independent units.
6. Get any large separate parking charge reviewed by a property lawyer before paying.
7. Keep written confirmation of the parking type and its basis in the sanctioned plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can a builder sell a car parking space separately? For open and stilt parking, generally no. The Supreme Court held in the Nahalchand Laloochand case that stilt and open parking are not flats and cannot be sold as independent units, and the real estate law treats open parking as a common area. A properly sanctioned covered garage may be sold if clearly identified and approved in the plan.

Is a separate charge for open parking legal? Open parking is classified as a common area whose cost is meant to be included in your flat's base price, so a separate charge for it risks making you pay twice. Builders are, in effect, not meant to sell open parking or levy a separate allocation fee for it, so a large separate charge is worth questioning.

What is the difference between a garage and stilt parking? A sanctioned covered garage is a defined unit in the approved plan and may be sold if properly approved. Stilt parking, even when covered, is treated as a common area and not a separate flat, so it cannot be sold as an independent unit. The parking type decides how it should be charged.

What should I do if I am charged extra for parking? Ask what type of parking it is, whether it is approved as a saleable unit in the sanctioned plan, and whether its cost is already in the flat base price. For a large separate charge on open or stilt parking, have a property lawyer review the specific arrangement before you pay, since these spaces are generally treated as common areas.

Last updated 2026-08-27. PropNewz Team.