A Trial Analysis On The Definition Of The Property Right Of The Parking Spaces In Condominiums

The issue of the definition of the property right of the parking spaces in condominiums has been in existence for a long time. In recent years, with the economy developing quickly and the people's life being better and better, the number of the families owning cars is on the rise. It is of increasing importance to set up parking spaces for the cars. Meanwhile, the quick urbanization and the large numbers of population swarming into the cities cause the urban land sources to decrease day by day. The shortage of land sources and the rise of anchorage dues make the owners in condominiums pay close attention to the issue of the cars' parking, especially to the allotment, use, and the cost's splitting. Thus, the quarrel over the parking spaces in condominiums starts among the owners, the real estate agency and the property management company.The definition of the property right of the parking spaces in condominiums is a particular regulation among the legal systems of condominium ownership. Different nations have different regulations on the issue, and they all made clear provisions over it. However, the real estate market in our country lags far behind and there is still much imperfection in some relevant legal provisions. The crux of the definition of the property right of the parking spaces lies in imperfect legal provisions which result in the vague property right. The theoretical circles and judicial circles have also argued a lot over the nature and the property of the parking spaces in condominiums. Amended for seven times and approved this year, the Property Rights Law provides a clear solution to the issue. But the legal provisions pay no attention to the current situation of the parking spaces, and ignore the conflicts among the current legal provisions and the practical problems. The legal provisions attach little importance to the imperfect land registry system and the inequality in status between the owners and the real estate agency. Thus, it is necessary to discuss how to definite the property right of the parking spaces and how to perfect some relevant systems.Based on the practice, the writer made on-the-spot observations about the current situations of the parking spaces in the surrounding condominiums, and analyzes the definition of the parking spaces. Starting from the traditional civil law and the comparative law, and the Laws of Real Property, the paper takes the land-use right and the volume ratio into consideration, and in the end gives its solution. The paper can be divided into five parts.Part I introduces two cases over the definition of the parking spaces respectively, the cases of the definition of the underground parking spaces in a condominium in Nanjing and Beijing. The legal nature of the parking spaces in these two cases should be the same, however, the court sentences are totally different because of the lack of the relevant legal provisions. So, it is important to clarify the legal nature and property right of the parking spaces.Part II analyzes the legal nature of the parking spaces in condominiums. By analysis the writer finds that the legal nature as it is totally different from the legal nature as it ought to be. So, who should own the property of the parking spaces depends on the real situation, and it can't be simply regarded as the owner's property or as the real estate agency's property.In Part III, the paper discusses the legal provisions and judicial practices on the definition of the parking spaces in condominiums in Japan, US, Germany, France and Taiwan (province of China) from the perspective of the comparative law, and then draws on the experiences in this regard. The writer holds that there is not only one mode of the right definition. It can be regarded as the exclusive part and under some circumstances it can be regarded as the common part. We should examine the right definition of the parking spaces with the broad vision.In Part IV, the paper analyzes the definition of three kinds of the parking spaces from the perspective of our traditional civil law and real property law, especially define the property right of the underground parking spaces. In particular, the paper inspects the theoretical and practical definition of the property right of the underground parking spaces transformed from the civil defense construction. In the part, the paper makes the analytical review of the item I and item II in clause 74 in the Property Right Law.In Part V, the writer puts forward some suggestions on how to perfect the definition of the parking spaces in condominiums from three angles, improving the legal systems of condominium ownership, perfecting the real property registry and strengthening the property management system. Thus, hopefully it can be of great help to the perfection of future judicial interpretation and relevant legal provisions.