Ask Jonathan: I live in a block of 12 flats with six parking spaces. Four flats have been let to tenants who are taking up the spaces. We own the freehold and manage the flats. Can we make new rules asking tenants to park in garages or in the street?

My question is as we own the freehold and manage the flats ourselves have we any way of making new rules asking tenants to park in their garages or park in the street?

Can you please clarify that as we have our own management committee who run the flats and as we are a Ltd Company what rights do we have? Mr S, Middlesex A.

Dear Lee Thank you for your question. I can quite see this may be an awkward situation for the management committee. The rights of the freeholders/landlords vis-à-vis the owners of the flat are usually laid out in the lease. The leases on each development are different in their details and it would be necessary to examine the lease closely to see what rights are actually granted to the tenants vis-à-vis parking and what rights have been reserved to the freeholders. Given you say there are 12 flats and only 6 parking spaces and you make references to garages it may well be that not every flat has a right to park in a parking space. IF every flat has a garage then the parking spaces may have been provided for visitors to use on a first come first served basis.

Many leases provide that the freeholders have the right to make rules in the interest of good management of the development.

I would suggest a careful reading of the leases is the first step and if the matter is still unclear then you should consult a Solicitor. We would be happy to advise if you wish to consult us.

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