Deeded Parking Versus Association-Owned Parking

E.B. from Massachusetts writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Can the trustees of a condo association force the owner of deeded parking from their deeded spaces to accommodate someone with disabilities? The disabled person has 2 deeded spaces with his condo – which he saw before moving in – but finds he has to back up his van into minor traffic in the parking garage in order to get into his van via a wheelchair lift.

Mister Condo replies:

E.B., since I am not an attorney please consider my replay as friendly and not legal. For a legal opinion, I would strongly suggest you speak with a qualified attorney in your area. For the most part, parking spaces that are under the direct control of the Board of Trustees are commonly owned by the association and the association can do with them as they see fit. So if the parking spaces in question are owned by the association, the Trustees may be well within their rights to reassign the parking spaces. However, you have mentioned that the spaces in question are deeded parking spaces, meaning that the parking spaces are actually owned by the individual unit owner versus the association. If that is the case, the Trustees may be overstepping their authority to reassign the spaces. The true answer to your question lies in the deed to the unit and the association’s governing documents. Ownership of the actual parking spaces is the heart of the issue. It may require a legal opinion to get a true answer and a legal action to bring about a correct result. Good luck!