Car Parking Rules in Mumbai Housing Societies and Redevelopment

In a Mumbai housing society, car parking — whether it is a stilt, open, podium or mechanical (stack) space — is generally part of the building’s common areas that belong to the society as a whole, not a separate flat-like unit that a builder can sell to a single buyer. Courts and consumer forums in India have repeatedly held that a developer cannot sell parking as a standalone saleable unit; once the building is handed over, the right to allot each space rests with the co-operative society through its general body. This guide explains, in plain language, who owns parking, how a society shares spaces fairly, what the building regulations require new projects to provide, and — most importantly — how to lock down your parking entitlement during redevelopment.

Who actually owns the parking in a society?

Most Mumbai buildings are run as a co-operative housing society registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (MCS) Act, 1960. Under this structure, the land and building are held collectively by the society. The lobbies, staircases, lifts, terraces, open spaces and parking areas are “common areas” — shared facilities that every member has a stake in.

Parking, refuge areas (safe floors kept aside for fire evacuation) and open spaces are treated as common areas or mandatory reservations under the building regulations. In practical terms, this means no individual member truly owns a parking bay the way they own the four walls of their flat. Instead, a member is allotted the right to use a particular space by the society. The bay itself remains society property.

The same logic applies even where the building is held under the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970 (a condominium structure created through a registered Deed of Declaration). There, each owner holds their apartment plus an undivided share in the common areas — and parking generally falls within those common areas rather than being an independently owned unit.

Can a builder sell a parking space separately?

A recurring dispute in Mumbai is a builder charging a buyer separately for a stilt or open parking bay and describing it as a “sold” unit. The settled position, laid down by courts and consumer forums, is that parking is part of the common areas and cannot be sold as an independent unit divorced from a flat. A developer may build the parking and hand it over, but the money value of common areas is meant to be recovered through the flat price, not sold twice.

The Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA), 1963 reinforces this. Section 11 requires the promoter to convey title of the whole property — land, building and common areas — to the society. If a builder drags their feet, members can seek a deemed conveyance under Section 11(3) through the Competent Authority (the District Deputy Registrar), which transfers the entire property, parking included, to the society.

How a society allots parking fairly among members

Once the society is formed and takes charge, allotment of parking becomes an internal matter governed by the society’s registered bye-laws (the widely adopted Model Bye-Laws 2014 under the MCS Act, 1960) and decided by the general body — the meeting of all members. There is no single legal formula, but fair and commonly accepted practices include:

• One space per flat first: where spaces are limited, each flat is given one bay before anyone gets a second.
• Draw of lots or rotation: when there are fewer spaces than members who want them, bays are allotted by lottery and rotated periodically so the same members do not always get the covered or better spots.
• Reasonable parking charges: the society may levy a modest parking or stilt charge that goes into common funds — not a profit-making rent.
• A transparent waiting list: members without a bay are queued in a recorded order for the next available space.

The key principle is that allotment must be decided openly by the general body and recorded in the minutes, not handed out by one office-bearer as a favour. If a member feels the allotment is unfair or a committee is misusing its power, the dispute “touches the business of the society” and can be taken to the Co-operative Court under Section 91 of the MCS Act, 1960, or raised with the Registrar. The State also retains power to issue binding directives to societies under Section 79A.

Parking norms for new buildings under DCPR 2034

For any new or redeveloped building in Greater Mumbai, the number of parking spaces a developer must provide is fixed by the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, administered by the MCGM (the rest of Maharashtra follows the UDCPR). These regulations set minimum parking-provision norms that scale with the size and number of flats and the building’s use — larger flats and larger projects must provide more car spaces, along with visitor and two-wheeler parking.

The scale is not a mystery. It is set by Table 21 of Regulation 44 as a plain ratio of flats to parking spaces, and you can apply it to your own project on the back of an envelope. For residential buildings in the Island City, the Suburbs and the Extended Suburbs, the developer must provide one car parking space for every:

Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulation 44, Table 21.

The right-hand column is the one that catches societies out. For redevelopment under Regulation 33(5), 33(6), 33(7), 33(7)(A), 33(9), 33(9)(B), 33(10), 33(10)(A), 33(11)(A), 33(15) and 33(20)(A), Table 21 halves the requirement. The same 55 sq m flat that carries half a parking space in an ordinary building carries only a quarter of one in a 33(7) cessed redevelopment. So the legal minimum in your scheme can be well below the parking your society already has — which is exactly why the number must be negotiated into the agreement instead of being left at the minimum.

Two mechanical rules go with the ratio. Regulation 44(2) rounds a fraction of more than half upward to the next whole space. And for flats in the first two size bands, the developer may choose to give one parking per tenement — it is an option open to them, not a right you can demand, so ask for it in writing.

Twenty-five bays for eighty families is the floor, not the target. If your society parks sixty cars today, that gap is the single most important thing to raise before the plans are frozen. Work your own figures with our FSI calculator and the additional area calculator, or ask for a proper feasibility report so the parking count is checked against the sanctioned plans, not just the brochure.

Finally, a bay only counts as a bay if it measures up. Regulation 44(1)(ii) fixes the minimum motor-car space at 2.5 m × 5.5 m. Up to 50% of the required spaces may be shrunk to 2.3 m × 4.5 m — and no more than half. A tape measure on the finished podium is a perfectly valid check.

What happens to parking during redevelopment

Redevelopment is where parking causes the most heartburn, because the new building is usually taller and the layout changes completely. To fit more cars on the same plot, developers now rely heavily on podium parking and mechanical / stack parking (car lifts and puzzle systems). This is normal and legal — but it changes the experience of parking: a stack system, for example, may mean waiting for an attendant, or a fixed slot inside a machine rather than an open bay you can walk up to.

Two things typically shift during redevelopment. First, the total number of spaces is re-fixed under DCPR 2034 for the new, larger building — and part of that count is meant for the developer’s sale flats, not only for existing members. Second, several incentive-FSI schemes sit inside the Table 21 proviso above, which sets a lower parking requirement than the ordinary rate. The proviso names 33(5), 33(6), 33(7), 33(7)(A), 33(9), 33(9)(B), 33(10), 33(10)(A), 33(11)(A), 33(15) and 33(20)(A). Regulation 33(7)(B) is deliberately not in that list — and 33(7)(B) is the route most ordinary suburban societies use, being “additional FSI for redevelopment of existing residential housing societies excluding buildings covered under regulation 33(7) and 33(7)(A)”. So if your society redevelops under 33(7)(B), you are entitled to parking at the full ordinary Table 21 rate, not the reduced one. A developer applying the reduced rate to a 33(7)(B) scheme is keeping parking he owes you. Confirm the count against the sanctioned plans, not a verbal promise.

The danger for members is simple: if parking is not written down, you can move back into your new flat and find your bay is smaller, further away, inside a machine, or — worst of all — that the developer claims it for a sale-flat buyer. Treat parking as a core amenity, on par with flat size and lift access. Our guide to standard amenities in redevelopment covers where parking should sit on your list.

Car lifts: the one number you can check on the plans yourself

Most new Mumbai redevelopment buildings park cars on a podium or on upper parking floors. Where there is no ramp, the cars get up there in a car lift. Too few lifts and every resident queues twice a day for the rest of the building’s life. DCPR 2034 fixes the minimum number, and the rule is simple arithmetic — you do not need an architect to check it.

The same formula appears three times in the regulation: for ramps to basement and podium parking under Regulation 37(16)(ii), for parking floors under Regulation 37(30), and for podiums built without a ramp under Regulation 37(31). In each place it reads the same way:

• Minimum two car lifts for up to 200 parking spaces.
• One additional car lift for every 100 parking beyond 200 — and the regulation says “or part thereof”, so any part of a hundred counts as a full hundred and is rounded up.

Those three words, “or part thereof”, are where the argument usually is. They mean 120 extra cars need the same two extra lifts as 200 extra cars — you never round down.

So if the plans for a 320-car podium show three lifts, that design is one lift short of the regulation. This is a specific, provable objection your society can put in writing to the architect and the developer before the plans go to MCGM for approval — not a vague complaint that “the parking looks tight”. Count the parking spaces on the sanctioned plan, count the car lifts, and compare against this table.

Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulation 37(16)(ii), 37(30) and 37(31).

Two further numbers are worth knowing before you accept a mechanical parking design. Where the entire parking is provided by mechanical or automatic means, Regulation 44(6) permits an additional 10% of the required parking, free of FSI, as a vehicle holding area — the queuing space where cars wait their turn. Ask whether it has been provided; without it, the queue forms on the road. And a podium is only permitted at all on a plot admeasuring 1,000 sq m or more under Regulation 37(31). On a smaller plot the parking has to work at ground level, in a basement, or by machine.

Why you must fix parking entitlement in the development agreement

The single most effective protection is to write your parking entitlement into the development agreement (DA) and your individual Permanent Alternate Accommodation Agreement (PAAA) — and to have both registered. Under the Section 79A redevelopment directive dated 4 July 2019, the DA and PAAAs are required to be registered, and once a right is recorded in a registered document it is far harder to walk back (the Registration Act, 1908, Section 17 makes registration compulsory for documents creating rights in immovable property).

The law also gives members a shield against silent design changes. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), Section 14 bars a promoter from changing the sanctioned plans, layout or specifications without the written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees. So if the parking plan you agreed to is quietly altered, that consent requirement is your leverage.

Make sure your agreement spells out, in numbers, exactly what each member gets:

Before you sign anything, run the draft past our red flags in a development agreement guide and compare the wording against our agreement clause library, which gives you sample parking clauses you can insist on. And if your society is not yet properly organised to negotiate as one voice, start by getting your paperwork in order — register your society with us first.