Car Parking Rules When Buying a Flat in Bengaluru: What a Builder Can and Cannot Sell

It is one of the last line items in the cost sheet, and one of the most quietly contested: a separate charge of a few lakh rupees for a car parking space, presented as if it were an extra you are buying outright. Many Bengaluru buyers pay it without question. The law on what a builder can actually sell here is clearer than most realise. The quick facts: open parking spaces are treated as common areas under the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act and cannot be sold separately, the Supreme Court has held that stilt and open parking form part of the common areas of a building, and only genuinely enclosed covered parking, a garage clearly shown in the plans and the agreement, can be sold as private property.

The short answer. Under RERA and Supreme Court rulings, a builder cannot sell open or stilt car parking separately because those spaces are common areas belonging to all owners, and only a properly enclosed garage shown in the sanctioned plan and the sale agreement can be sold privately. The trade-off for buyers is between asserting the right and keeping the peace: the law is on your side, but parking allocation in practice is settled by the owners association after handover, so the pragmatic path is to insist the arrangement is documented correctly rather than to simply refuse every parking charge at the negotiating table.

What does the law say about open and stilt parking?

It says they belong to everyone, not to the builder's price list. Under Section 2(n) of the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act, open parking areas fall within the definition of common areas, and common areas cannot be sold to individual buyers, they belong collectively to all the owners. The Supreme Court has reinforced this, holding that stilt parking and open parking spaces are part of the common areas of a building and cannot be sold by the developer as independent units. As explained by property and legal commentaries including NoBrokerHood and Sobha's note on the Supreme Court judgment, the practical effect is that a developer charging separately for an open or stilt space is selling something that is not theirs to sell.

What kind of parking can a builder legitimately sell?

A genuine enclosed garage, and only on clear conditions. The one category that can be sold separately is covered parking in the nature of a garage, a properly enclosed space, but the developer must show it in the sanctioned plans and state it explicitly in the sale agreement. The logic is that a closed garage can qualify as a private, demarcated area rather than a shared common space. The distinction a buyer must hold onto is between a marketing label and a legal reality: builders often call ordinary stilt or basement bays covered parking to justify a charge, but unless the space is a true enclosed garage reflected in the approved plan, it remains common area. When a developer offers covered parking for sale, the buyer's test is documentary, does it appear as a saleable garage in the plan and the agreement, not just on the brochure.

How do the parking types compare for a buyer?

The table below sorts the common parking types by what the law allows and what a buyer should expect.

The comparative point: almost everything labelled parking in a typical apartment is common area, and only the enclosed garage sits on the saleable side of the line, so a buyer being charged separately for anything else should ask for the legal basis.

Who decides who parks where, then?

The owners association, once it exists, under rules it frames for fair allocation. Since open and stilt spaces are common property, the right to allot them rests with the apartment owners association or society after it is formed, not with the developer in perpetuity. In the interim, before the association is constituted, the developer typically manages allocation, but managing allocation is different from selling title, and the developer cannot convert that interim role into a permanent sale. For a buyer this means two things: the parking space you use should ultimately be allotted and recorded through the association rather than held as a private sale deed, and a fair allocation framework, often tied to flat size or a draw, is the legitimate way disputes get settled. PropNewz has covered how owners associations derive their authority in our writing on apartment governance, including our June 11 guide to maintenance charges and association rules.

What is the practical play for a buyer at the negotiating table?

Document the arrangement correctly rather than fight every charge to a standstill. The honest reality is that parking is emotionally and practically important, every buyer wants an assured space, and developers know it, so the market has normalised parking charges even where the law is unsympathetic to selling open spaces. A buyer who understands the rules has two useful moves. First, push back on a separate, large sale charge for open or stilt parking by naming it as common area, which at minimum strengthens negotiation. Second, insist that whatever space is assigned to you is recorded in writing in the agreement and is consistent with the sanctioned plan, so your right to that bay is documented and survives into the association era. The seven point checklist below operationalises a calm, informed approach.

1. Ask explicitly whether each space offered is open, stilt, a covered bay or an enclosed garage.
2. Treat open, stilt and visitor parking as common areas that the builder cannot sell separately.
3. For any covered parking sold to you, confirm it appears as a garage in the sanctioned plan and the agreement.
4. Get the specific allocated space recorded in writing, not just promised verbally by the sales team.
5. Question a large separate charge for open or stilt parking by naming its common area status.
6. Understand that final allotment of common parking rests with the owners association once formed.
7. Check that visitor parking shown in the plan is preserved and not quietly sold off to flat buyers.

Frequently asked questions

Can a builder sell open car parking separately?

No. Open parking spaces are common areas under the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act and cannot be sold separately. The Supreme Court has held that stilt and open parking form part of the common areas, so developers cannot charge for them as saleable private property.

Can covered parking or a garage be sold?

Covered parking such as a closed garage can be sold separately only if it is clearly shown in the sanctioned plans and explicitly mentioned in the sale agreement. A genuine enclosed garage can be private property, while open and stilt spaces remain common areas.

Who allots parking in an apartment complex?

After the owners association or society is formed, it allots parking under fair rules it frames. Until then the developer manages allocation but cannot sell open or stilt spaces. Any allotment should ultimately be recorded through the association rather than sold as private title.

What should a buyer check about parking before booking?

Ask whether each space offered is open, stilt or an enclosed garage, and get the allocation recorded in writing in the agreement. Be cautious of large separate charges for open or stilt parking, since these are common areas, and confirm the parking shown matches the sanctioned plan.

Last updated 2026-06-13. PropNewz Team.