Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Colorado
Apartment driveways: personal or communal property
Hello,
I have a question concerning the use of ''Driveways'' in an apartment buidling. Is the use of a driveway reserved for the teneant that rents the indoor garage only...or are the other tenants of the apartment building entitled to park in the driveway? Are there legal ramifications if other tenants park in the driveway without the consent of the tenant renting the indoor garage?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Apartment driveways: personal or communal property
This is one of those things that can't be looked up in a book. The rights of tenants are determined by reference to their leases, and matters not spelled out in the lease would be decided by looking at all the facts and circumstances.
Probably more often than not, a narrow driveway would be found by a judge to be for the use of the tenant whose garage it served, since even a brief blockage invades the garage user's right to ingress and egress. If the driveway is clearly wide enough for a parked car too, and no other reasonable parking is provided for the garageless tenant, the court could find that it was OK to park in the driveway.
In short, it depends first of all on what the leases say, and if they don't say anything it depends on common sense and fair play.