You sign the booking form for a two bedroom flat off Sarjapur Road, the sales manager points at a glossy site plan, and says your covered slot is sorted. Then he slides a separate receipt across the table for one lakh, labelled "car parking charges." Most buyers pay it without a second look, because a marked slot feels worth any sum when the alternative is circling the basement at 9 pm. The car parking allotment rules Bengaluru buyers actually need to know are simpler and stricter than the sales desk lets on: a chunk of what gets charged for parking in this city cannot legally be sold to you at all, and the slot you think you bought may never appear in any document you can enforce later.

The short answer. Under RERA and earlier Supreme Court precedent, open and stilt parking in an apartment project is common area that belongs to all owners jointly and cannot be sold to you as a separate unit, while a properly enclosed covered garage can be allotted. So the trade-off is real: paying for a marked covered slot buys you certainty, but if the builder is charging you for open or stilt parking he legally cannot sell, you are paying for something that becomes the association's to manage at handover. The all-in statutory cost of registering a Bengaluru home above Rs 45 lakh already runs roughly 6.6% to 7% of value, so do not stack an unenforceable parking charge on top without checking what you are actually buying.

Quick fact a buyer can verify: in Bengaluru, the legal status of open versus covered parking turns on the Karnataka RERA Act and the Supreme Court ruling in Nahalchand Laloochand v Panchali Co-operative Housing Society, and you can confirm both on the official Karnataka RERA portal at rera.karnataka.gov.in and in the judgment text on Indian Kanoon.

What does the law actually say about selling car parking?

The law says a developer cannot sell open or stilt parking as an independent unit, because those spaces are common area owned jointly by every flat owner. This is settled by the Supreme Court in Nahalchand Laloochand v Panchali Co-operative Housing Society (2010), which held that stilt and open parking spaces form part of the common areas and facilities and cannot be carved out and sold separately to individual purchasers. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 carried that logic forward by treating open parking as part of the common areas of a project. What a developer can legitimately allot and price separately is a properly enclosed garage, a structure with a roof and walls that meets the legal definition, or in practice a clearly demarcated covered slot disclosed in the sanctioned plan and the agreement. The line that matters to you as a buyer is enclosed and disclosed versus open and common.

How do car parking allotment rules Bengaluru projects follow actually work?

In practice, parking in a Bengaluru apartment is allotted through the agreement and the developer's allotment letter, not through any separate parking sale deed. A compliant builder will show the parking layout in the sanctioned plan, assign you a specific slot by number, and record that slot in your sale agreement or a stamped allotment annexure. Where a builder collects "parking charges" for open or stilt spaces, he is on weak legal ground, because that space is common area, and the money is better understood as an informal premium for a preferred slot rather than the purchase of an asset you own outright. Covered and basement parking that is genuinely enclosed can be allotted to you with a clear paper trail. The crucial buyer move is to insist that whatever you are paying for appears, by slot number, in a document the developer signs, so that the right does not evaporate when the project is handed to the owners' association.

What is the difference between stilt, covered, and visitor parking?

The difference comes down to who can own the space, who controls it, and whether it can be sold. Stilt and open parking are common area, controlled by the association after handover, and cannot be sold as separate units. Covered, basement, or mechanical parking can, when properly enclosed and disclosed, be allotted and priced. Visitor parking is reserved common area that no individual owner or the builder can sell or convert to a private slot, and disputes over it are among the most common in Bengaluru societies because demand outstrips the marked bays. The table below sets out how the three categories compare on the questions a buyer should be asking before paying anything.

What should you get in writing in the agreement?

You should get the specific slot number, its type, and its location written into the sale agreement or a stamped annexure, never left to a verbal promise. A slot described only on a brochure or in a WhatsApp message is not enforceable, and the most expensive mistake Bengaluru buyers make is paying the parking charge while letting the slot stay undefined on paper. Insist the agreement names the slot, states whether it is covered or stilt, and references the sanctioned parking plan. While you are reviewing that document, read the broader contract carefully, because parking sits alongside other clauses that decide what you actually own; our guide to builder buyer agreement clauses every Bengaluru buyer should check walks through the language that protects you. Parking rights are also tied to your share in the land, so it helps to understand how the undivided share of land in a Bengaluru apartment works, since common area parking belongs to owners in proportion to that share.

Why does parking go wrong at the association handover?

Parking goes wrong at handover because the developer's informal allotments are not always backed by enforceable documents, and the new owners' association inherits the dispute. When the builder hands the project to the association, control of all common area parking, including open, stilt, and visitor bays, passes to the owners collectively. If your covered slot was recorded by number in your agreement, your right travels with you. If it rested on a sales promise or a plain receipt, you may find the association reallocating spaces under its bye-laws and your favourite slot gone. Buyers who skipped getting the slot number in the agreement are the ones who lose out here. The fix is preventive: secure the paper before possession, and check that the builder is handing over a clean parking layout to the association rather than a tangle of overlapping verbal claims.

How much should parking cost, and is paying extra worth it?

Paying extra for a genuine covered or basement slot can be worth it for the certainty of a marked, enclosed space, but paying a separate price for open or stilt parking is paying for something the developer cannot lawfully sell you. There is no fixed statutory tariff, so treat any quoted parking figure as negotiable and ask the builder to show why the space qualifies as saleable covered parking rather than common area. Weigh the premium against the dispute risk: a documented covered slot is low risk, an undocumented stilt charge is money spent on a right the association may not recognise. Do not lose sight of your total acquisition cost either, because Karnataka levies stamp duty of 5% on homes above Rs 45 lakh with registration at 2% and a cess and surcharge on top, pushing the statutory bill to roughly 6.6% to 7% of value. You can confirm the live duty and any parking guidance on the Karnataka RERA portal before you sign.

What is the buyer's checklist before paying for a slot?

Before you pay a rupee for parking, run this checklist so that what you pay for is what you can later enforce.

1. Ask the developer to show the sanctioned parking plan and identify your slot on it by number.
2. Confirm whether the slot is open, stilt, covered, or basement, and remember open and stilt cannot be sold to you.
3. Get the slot number, type, and location recorded in the sale agreement or a stamped annexure.
4. Refuse to treat a brochure marking, a verbal promise, or a plain receipt as proof of a parking right.
5. For mechanical or stack parking, ask in writing who maintains the lift and who pays for breakdowns.
6. Check how visitor and unallotted surface parking will be managed by the owners' association.
7. Verify the legal position on the Karnataka RERA portal and keep copies of every parking document.

Can a builder in Bengaluru charge me separately for open or stilt parking?

Legally a builder cannot sell open or stilt parking as a separate unit, because it is common area belonging to all owners under RERA and Supreme Court precedent. Builders sometimes still collect a premium for preferred slots, but that charge is weak in law, so verify what you are paying for before agreeing.

Is covered or basement parking always saleable in a Bengaluru apartment?

Covered or basement parking can be allotted and priced only when it is a genuinely enclosed space disclosed in the sanctioned plan and the agreement. If the space is really an open or stilt slot dressed up as covered parking, the sale is on shaky ground, so insist the builder shows it as covered parking on the approved layout.

What happens to my parking slot when the project is handed to the association?

If your slot was recorded by number in your registered agreement, your right carries over to you after handover. If it rested only on a verbal promise or a receipt, the owners' association may reallocate common area parking under its bye-laws, and you could lose the slot you assumed was yours permanently.

Can visitor parking in my Bengaluru society be sold or converted to a private slot?

No. Visitor parking is reserved common area that neither the builder nor any individual owner can sell or convert into a private slot. It must stay available for guests, and any attempt to allot it permanently can be challenged before the association or the Karnataka RERA authority by aggrieved owners.

Last updated 2026-06-30. PropNewz Team.