Walk most garages on a Tuesday afternoon and count the empty visitor stalls. Then count the residents on the board's list asking for a second spot. In a lot of buildings, the two numbers are the same problem.
Why stalls sit empty
Sized for the busiest night of the year
Visitor parking is often planned around holidays and big weekends. The rest of the year, a share of those stalls sits empty.
Renting by hand is a part-time job
Boards that do rent stalls usually run it from a spreadsheet and a pile of cheques: who's next on the list, whose term ends when, who stopped paying. It works until the volunteer who runs it moves away.
Nobody checks who's actually parked there
A rented stall with no enforcement soon becomes a free stall. Without a way for patrol to know which plate belongs where, renters lose trust and stop paying.
What a working rental programme looks like
- A clear price list. One monthly price for the area, or more for stalls near the elevator, with a charger or with extra width.
- Terms people can plan around. Month to month, or 3, 6 and 12-month terms that renew on their own unless the renter stops them.
- A fair waiting list. When a stall frees up, the next person in line gets an offer by email and a set time to accept it.
- Rent collected online. Renters pay each month by card, or the building adds it to their bill. Every payment shows on the statement.
- Enforcement that knows. Each rented month is tied to the renter's plate, so a plate check by patrol shows a valid permit, or shows that it isn't one.
Residents first, neighbours if you want
Some buildings keep rentals for residents only. Others open one area to people who live or work nearby, with a rentals page they can share on a sign or a listing. Either way, the board decides which areas are open and to whom.
What it adds up to
Ten stalls at $120 a month is $14,400 a year that used to be nothing. The revenue estimate shows the figure for your own building, rentals and visitor fees side by side.
