Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

My question has to do with common space / parking.

There are 5 enclosed garages in the rear of our complex. The owner of the property (who does not live on property) keeps one of the double garages for her own storage and use. She has posted on all the gareges "No Parking - Violators will be towed". She also sent a letter to all the tenants at one time that parking in front of the garages was prohibited and could only be used for loading / unloading.

However she allows the tenant upstairs to park his SUV directly in front of her garage. She is very aware he is parking there as many times she has come to the property and actually wasn't able to fully open her garage and had to crouch down to get in when it was blocked by this SUV, rather than asking him to move it.

One time I parked in back for a brief time and she was on property. She knocked on my back door (which opens to the parking area) and told me to move it or I would be towed.

Is she allowed to discriminate like this? Isn't the parking area common space which she cannot allow one but not others to use as my upstairs neighbor does?


Asked on 11/08/10, 6:15 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Your lease states what you are renting. Apparently the landlord has told all the tenants that the garages are not part of what they are renting. It is not common space. So you have no right to park there except for loading/unloading. It is her option to allow some tenants to park there and not others. Doing so is not illegal discrimination; she is not doing so based upon race, etc.

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Answered on 11/14/10, 12:14 am


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