Calgary Condo Guide to Parking: Titled, Leased, Assigned

October 12, 2015
By Cody Battershill

Condo Parking: Differences Between Titled, Leased, Assigned...

Are you in the market for a new or resale condominium in Calgary and have questions about parking? If so, you've come to the right place!

Chances are unless your buying at the new N3 Condo in East Village (a project without any parking stalls for owners), you'll want to find out and understand the ownership structure of the parking stall associated with your unit.

Browse Condos for Sale in Calgary

The first step is to find out if your parking stall is:

Titled

You own the physical space and will have a title to it, same as your physical condo and is issued separately from your residential space.
The condo plan will have a labelled unit alongside a designated number for your titled parking space and sometimes will be described as belonging to the unit itself. It will be highlighted with a solid line on the condo plan.
It is important to note that if assigned as part of the unit itself, the unit will be larger in square footage as it will also include that of the parking space.

Leased

Can be almost as good as titled depending on your needs, just no ownership involved and, of course, a lease payment.

There are two types of leased parking stalls associated with condos:

Delineated lease parking can transfer when a condo is sold without any approval necessary from the board. To find out if a leased stall is delineated, you can examine the condo plan to see if there is any common property outlined with broken lines and identified with a labelled capital letter. If that doesn't work - ask your trusted real estate professional of which whom may have already examined the documents on your behalf.
Not delineated lease parking will also be highlighted in the condo plan. Parking stalls will be shown as common property and not highlighted with any numbers or have a distinct dotted-line around it, meaning the lease is only valid while a person is the legal owner of the unit. If they sell the unit, the lease for the parking stall ends and the buyer will have to renegotiate a new lease contract with the condominium corp. Once again, if you are not sure, ask your real estate agent and they will be happy to provide you with that information.

Also see Why You Should Review Your Condo Documents today.

Assigned

Assigned parking is typically the least-desired kind of stall any buyer wants. Unfortunately, these units can be reassigned by the condo board at any time.
If the stall is assigned there will be no reference to the stall on the condo plan at all.

Make the Best Decisions

Knowing exactly what you are buying is a crucial part of making the best and most informed decision.

Downtown underground stalls can go for $20,000 all the way up to $45,000 (so far this is one of the highest figures I've ever seen). Having said that, it is so critical to know what parking stall is associated with a potential condo purchase.

It is also very important to think of your resale value down the road.

When it comes time to possibly sell, having a spot versus not having one can greatly impact not only the price you get, but also how long it takes for your unit to sell.