If the builder has allotted you a parking slot that is unusable because a structural column stands inside the bay, or so close that the doors cannot open, the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 gives you three things at once: the right to the sanctioned parking layout under Section 19(1), a bar on the promoter departing from that layout under Section 14, and money where the thing delivered does not match the thing sold, under Section 12 or Section 18(3). "Take it or leave it" is not one of the promoter's options under the Act.
Part of the RERA and homebuyer disputes practice at S Jain & Attorneys, Bangalore.
This guide is for a Bengaluru flat buyer who paid a separate sum for a covered car park in the basement and found the pillar on handover day. Whether a builder may charge for parking at all is in the Ask Me answer on parking charges, and other possession-day demands in the guide on extra charges at possession.
The parking slot the builder gave me has a pillar in it: what did I actually buy?
You bought one of three things, and the Act decides which by the structure, not the label on the receipt. Section 2(y) defines a garage as a place within a project having a roof and walls on three sides for parking any vehicle, and excludes an unenclosed or uncovered parking space such as open parking areas. Section 2(n)(iii) lists the common basements, open parking areas and common storage spaces among the common areas. A garage can be sold. A marked bay in a common basement cannot be carved out and sold as a unit, though its exclusive use can be assigned to you. Open and stilt bays cannot be sold at all.
| What the bay is | Where the Act puts it | What that means for your money |
|---|---|---|
| Enclosed garage, roof and walls on three sides | Section 2(y), a saleable unit declared under Section 4(2)(i) and listed quarterly under Section 11(1)(c) | You own the space in your sale deed. If a car cannot use it, the unit does not answer its description: Section 12 and Section 18(3). |
| Marked bay in the basement, roof above, no walls | Outside Section 2(y) on its words, inside the common basements of Section 2(n)(iii) | Exclusive use can be allotted as a limited common area, but the space stays common property. You are owed a bay matching the sanctioned plan, or your money back. |
| Open surface bay or stilt bay | A common area under Section 2(n)(iii) | Not saleable. The price paid for it as a separate item is recoverable. |
| Any bay that differs from the sanctioned plan | Section 14(1) and (2): build to the sanctioned plans, no alteration without consent | A direction under Section 37, a penalty under Section 61, compensation under Section 18(3). |
Section 4(2)(i) required the promoter to declare the number and area of garages for sale at registration, and item (xiii) of Form A under the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules 2017 the number of open and covered parking areas. A bay outside those figures was never declared.
Key takeaway. The Act knows two kinds of parking: a garage with a roof and three walls, which can be sold, and everything else, which is a common area. A pillar does not change the category. It means the thing delivered is not the thing described.
Can the builder allot me any bay he likes?
No. His freedom ends at four documents. First, the allotment letter, whose proforma went to K-RERA under Section 4(2)(g). Second, the agreement for sale and the schedule to the sale deed, which describe the bay by number and location. Third, the sanctioned plan. Section 2(zq) defines it to include the parking and circulation plan, Section 14(1) obliges the promoter to develop the project in accordance with the sanctioned plans, and Section 14(2) bars alterations without your previous consent, or, for the common areas, the written consent of two-thirds of the allottees. The Explanation to Section 14(2)(i) says a structural change, including cutting into or adding any column, beam or other support, is never a minor alteration.
Fourth, once the owners' association is formed, the Declaration under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act 1972 takes over. Section 3(m) of that Act allows the Declaration to reserve certain common areas for particular apartments as limited common areas, which is the lawful mechanism for an exclusive bay, and Section 13 requires the Declaration to be registered with floor plans carrying an architect's verified statement that they copy the plans approved by the local authority.
Common mistake. Signing the sale deed with the pillar bay's number in the schedule. Once the deed describes that bay, the promoter will say you took it with full knowledge. Have a usable bay substituted before registration, or register with a written protest naming the defect.
The four documents, and what each does to "that is your slot".
The allotment letter
Its proforma went to K-RERA with the registration application under Section 4(2)(g), so the promoter is held to the terms he filed, not a later version for one buyer.
The sanctioned parking plan
Section 2(zq) makes the parking and circulation plan part of the sanctioned plan, and Section 14 bars the promoter from building anything different without consent.
The KAOA Declaration
Section 13 of the 1972 Act requires registered floor plans certified by an architect as true copies of the approved plans. A hand-drawn bay is not in them.
How do I prove the parking slot is unusable?
Measure it, photograph it with a car in it, and set both against the sanctioned plan. Bye-law 16 of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Building Bye-laws 2003 says each off-street car parking space shall not be less than 18 square metres, that is 3 metres by 6 metres, with drives of not less than 2.5 metres. Check the sanction sheet for the bye-law your project was approved under. A column inside the 3 by 6 rectangle, or one that narrows the drive at the turn into the bay, takes it below that standard. Measure the clear space, not the painted lines.
The plan is yours by right. Section 19(1) entitles you to the sanctioned plans and layout plans with the specifications approved by the competent authority, and Section 19(5) to the documents and plans, including those of the common areas, after possession. Ask the promoter in writing for the basement parking plan and the structural drawing. If he stalls, the plan was enclosed with his registration application under item (vii) of Form A, and the corporation that sanctioned it holds the file.
Then build the file: photographs from four sides with an ordinary car in the bay, doors opened, a tape measure visible. A sketch of clear width, clear length and column footprint. A one-page note from a licensed architect or structural engineer that the bay fails the bye-law dimension or the sanctioned plan. Every message in which the promoter refuses a change.
What can I demand: a different bay, my money back, or compensation?
All three, and the order matters. The first and usual demand is re-allotment of a usable bay of the sanctioned size. Section 34(f) makes it the Authority's function to ensure compliance with the obligations cast upon promoters, Section 37 lets it issue directions to promoters that are binding on all concerned, and Section 61 sets the penalty for contravening Section 14 at up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the project.
The second demand is the parking money back with interest. Section 12 applies where a person paid on the basis of the notice, advertisement, prospectus or model and sustained loss by reason of an incorrect or false statement in it, and a price sheet selling a covered car park that a car cannot enter is that statement. Its proviso lets a buyer who withdraws take back the entire investment with interest at the prescribed rate and compensation. Rule 16 fixes the rate at the State Bank of India highest marginal cost of lending rate plus two per cent, and Rule 17 requires payment within sixty days, as worked through in the delay interest calculation guide. A buyer who keeps the flat claims under Section 18(3), which makes the promoter liable to compensate an allottee for failing any other obligation under the Act, the rules or the agreement for sale.
The third demand is compensation for the loss itself: rent of a bay elsewhere, the engineer's fee, the lower value of a flat without usable parking. It is adjudged by the adjudicating officer under Section 71, who is or has been a District Judge, weighing under Section 72 the promoter's gain, the loss caused and whether the default is repetitive. Put the loss in rupees with receipts.
This is not a Section 14(3) case. That clause covers structural defects and defects in workmanship, quality or provision of services that the promoter must rectify within thirty days, and a column that is in the structural drawing on purpose cannot be rectified away. Plead Sections 12, 14(1), 14(2) and 18(3), and leave Section 14(3) to the five-year defect liability guide.
Where these complaints actually turn, in my reading of them, is the paper trail rather than the pillar. A bench does not need persuading that a car will not fit beside a column. It needs to see which document promised what: the brochure, the allotment letter with a bay number, the sanctioned plan with that number somewhere else, and the refusal in writing. Arrive without the plan and the adjournment to fetch it is when the last usable bay gets sold.
Where do I complain?
K-RERA for the direction, the adjudicating officer for compensation, and the consumer commission if you want one forum for both. Section 31(1) lets any aggrieved person complain to the Authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation of the Act, rules or regulations by a promoter. In Karnataka the complaint to the Authority is in Form N under Rule 29 with a fee of rupees one thousand by demand draft, and the compensation complaint under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 is in Form O under Rule 30 with the same fee. Filing mechanics are in the RERA complaint guide and on the RERA homebuyer disputes practice page.
The consumer route runs in parallel. Section 88 says the Act is in addition to and not in derogation of any other law, and Section 79 bars only civil courts. In M/s Imperia Structures Ltd v Anil Patni, decided on 2 November 2020, the Supreme Court read Sections 18, 79 and 88 together and held that an allottee who is a consumer has the choice whether to proceed under the Consumer Protection Act or before the RERA authorities. But Section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 gives it two years from the cause of action, condonable only for sufficient cause recorded in writing. See the consumer protection practice page.
The association has standing of its own. The Explanation to Section 31(1) includes the association of allottees within "person", and Section 19(3) entitles the association to claim possession of the common areas. An owner's rights inside the association are in the Ask Me answer on association rights.
Deadline warning. The consumer commission's two-year clock under Section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 runs from the cause of action, which the promoter will argue is handover day or earlier. Section 29(4) and Section 71(2) give K-RERA and the adjudicating officer sixty days to decide, with reasons recorded if longer, but the longer you use the pillar bay without written protest, the easier it is to say you accepted it.
What if the "covered parking" I paid for is open or stilt space?
Then the promoter sold what the Act says he could not sell. Section 2(n)(iii) puts open parking areas in the common areas, and Section 17(1) requires the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to be conveyed to the association of allottees. The Supreme Court reached the same result before the 2016 Act in Nahalchand Laloochand Pvt Ltd v Panchali Co-operative Housing Society Ltd, decided on 31 August 2010 under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963: a garage is a place having a roof and walls on three sides, a stilt or open parking space is neither a flat nor a garage, it forms part of the common areas, and the promoter has no right to sell it. His only right was to charge its cost from each purchaser in proportion to carpet area, and purchasers' undertakings consenting to the sale did not bind them or the society. Section 2(y) of the 2016 Act adopted that roof-and-three-walls test in almost the same words.
Karnataka law closes the door from the other side. Section 3(f)(3) of the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act 1972 lists basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces among the common areas and facilities, and Section 6(3) says the common areas shall remain undivided, that no one may sue for partition of any part of them, and that any covenant to the contrary is null and void. A clause handing a numbered open bay to one buyer alone is such a covenant.
The three facts that decide the open and stilt cases.
Roof and three walls
Section 2(y) and Nahalchand Laloochand both define a garage by a roof and walls on three sides. A bay without them is not a unit the promoter can sell.
Consent clauses are void
Section 6(3) of the 1972 Act makes any covenant to divide the common areas null and void, and the Supreme Court held purchaser undertakings did not bind the society.
Money back with interest
Section 12 returns the sum paid on an incorrect statement with interest at SBI highest MCLR plus two per cent under Rule 16, payable within sixty days under Rule 17.
Step by step: from handover day to the K-RERA order
- On handover day, write on the possession letter, above your signature, that car parking space number X is not usable and is taken under protest.
- Photograph and measure the bay the same day with a car in it: clear width, clear length, column footprint.
- Write to the promoter under Section 19(1) for the sanctioned parking plan and the structural drawing, and demand a usable bay within a stated time.
- Obtain a one-page note from a licensed architect or structural engineer measuring the bay against Bye-law 16 and the sanctioned plan.
- Check the K-RERA project page for the declared number of garages and covered parking areas.
- If no usable bay is offered, file Form N under Rule 29 for a direction to re-allot, and Form O under Rule 30 for compensation under Sections 12 and 18(3), each with the fee of rupees one thousand.
- If the order is ignored, Section 63 exposes the promoter to a penalty for every day of default, and recovery is in the execution guide.
What it costs and how long it takes
The statutory fees are small: rupees one thousand each for Form N and Form O under Rules 29 and 30, and a modest professional fee for the engineer's note. Advocate's fees for a K-RERA complaint of this kind in Bengaluru commonly run to a few tens of thousands of rupees through to the order. Sixty days is the statutory target for both the Authority and the adjudicating officer, but a contested complaint against a promoter who seeks adjournments commonly runs several months to a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the builder charge me separately for a basement parking bay at all?
Only if it is a garage under Section 2(y), a place with a roof and walls on three sides, declared by number and area under Section 4(2)(i). A marked bay in a common basement or an open or stilt space is a common area under Section 2(n)(iii). The full pricing analysis is in the Ask Me answer linked at the top.
The builder says the pillar bay is exactly as per the sanctioned plan. Does that end it?
No. Ask for the plan under Section 19(1) and check. If the plan shows the column inside the 3 by 6 metre rectangle, the sanction assumed a bay that never met Bye-law 16, and selling it as a covered car park is an incorrect statement under Section 12. If the plan shows the bay elsewhere, Section 14 is breached.
Is a pillar in my parking slot a defect under Section 14(3)?
No. Section 14(3) covers structural defects and defects in workmanship, quality or provision of services that the promoter must rectify within thirty days. A column is a designed element that cannot be rectified away, so the complaint is misdescription under Section 12 and deviation under Section 14(1) and (2), with compensation under Section 18(3).
Can K-RERA order the builder to give me a different bay?
Yes. Section 34(f) makes it the Authority's function to ensure promoters comply with their obligations, Section 37 lets it issue binding directions to promoters, and Section 61 backs a Section 14 breach with a penalty of up to five per cent of the estimated project cost.
Can I get the parking money back and still keep the flat?
Yes. Section 18(3) makes the promoter liable to compensate an allottee for failing any other obligation under the Act, the rules or the agreement for sale, and the claim goes to the adjudicating officer in Form O under Rule 30. Section 12's full refund with interest is for a buyer who withdraws from the project.
What interest rate applies if the parking price is refunded?
Rule 16 of the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules 2017 fixes it at the State Bank of India highest marginal cost of lending rate plus two per cent, and Rule 17 requires payment within sixty days of the refund becoming due.
Should I go to K-RERA or the consumer commission?
Both are open. In Imperia Structures v Anil Patni (2020) the Supreme Court held that Section 88 saves the consumer remedy and the allottee has the choice. The consumer route carries a two-year limitation under Section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, and K-RERA is the forum with the power to direct re-allotment and penalise a Section 14 breach.
Can the apartment owners' association complain about the parking layout?
Yes. The Explanation to Section 31(1) includes the association of allottees among those who may complain, and Section 19(3) entitles the association to claim possession of the common areas, which include the common basements and open parking under Section 2(n)(iii).
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice on your specific situation.
