Most buildings have visitor parking rules. Few residents could tell you what they are. The rules live in a PDF from years ago, the front desk applies them from memory, and every exception becomes the new normal.
Why rules get ignored
They are hard to find
If the rules are only in the declaration or a binder at the desk, residents learn them the day their guest is ticketed.
They depend on who is at the desk
One concierge allows a third night, another doesn't. Residents notice, and the rule stops meaning anything.
Nobody checks
A three-hour limit without a time on the pass is a suggestion, not a rule.
Five rules most buildings need
- Longest stay: how long one visit can last, for example 24 hours.
- Passes per unit each month: enough for normal life, not enough for a second car that lives in the visitor stall.
- Overnight hours: when overnight guests are allowed, and whether the desk has to approve them.
- Time between visits: how long before the same plate can get a new pass, so one car can't stay all month.
- Blackout dates: snow clearing, line painting or a garage repair, when visitor parking is closed.
Plan for the real exceptions
Rules break down when life doesn't fit them. Plan for the common cases instead of handling each one at the desk:
- Caregivers: a nurse, nanny or cleaner who comes on set days, added once for weeks or months.
- Parties: one link for several cars that counts once against the unit's limits.
- Contractors: trades and movers on their own records, not on a resident's passes.
- Real exceptions: when the desk allows something the rules don't, the reason and the person are kept with the pass.
Let the system remember
With ParkCommand, the rules are checked on every request. A resident asking for a fourth overnight pass sees why it can't be approved before anyone has to say no. Patrol sees each pass with its end time, so a three-hour limit is really three hours.
Tell residents once, clearly
Post the rules where visitors park, send them with the next newsletter, and start with a warning period. Our free signs and templates are ready to print, and the parking guide maker puts your building's rules on one page.
