Is it legal for an apartment manager to charge for parking?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it legal for an apartment manager to charge for parking?
Our Apartment manager gave everyone a 30 day notice to pay $30 a month for parking, or surrender your parking stall. Is that legal? We have been living here over 12 years.
Asked on September 30, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you have a lease for a fixed or definite time (such as the traditional one-year lease), then the manager may not add any charges during the term of the lease, unless the lease itself specifically reserves the right for new charges to be imposed or rules made. That's because a lease is a contract, and as with any other contract, neither party to it may unilaterally change its provisions or increase what the other party has to pay. With a written lease for a fixed or definite term, a new charge may only be added when the current lease expires, in the new or renewal lease.
However, if the lease is a written month to month lease or an oral lease (which is always month to month), the manager may give you 30 days notice changing the lease and adding a charge.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.