Strata & Building Management
Can you sell or rent out your car park bay separately from your unit?
Section 69 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 restricts any dealing with an accessory parcel independently of the principal parcel it is appurtenant to, and s.34(2) prohibits dealing with or disposing of rights in an accessory parcel separately from its principal parcel. That is why so many private car park deals are unenforceable.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers checking what parking they are actually getting, and owners in a dispute over a bay. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Medium |
| Buyer action | Send Lewis your building name, the charge you pay and what you are trying to decide, and he will tell you what to check first. |
Parking is a legal question first
This post works through an accessory parcel cannot be dealt with apart from its principal parcel. That single restriction voids a lot of informal deals. Parking disputes feel petty until you try to sell and discover what you thought you owned is not on your title.
The restriction, in two sections
Section 69 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 restricts any dealing with an accessory parcel, or with any share or interest in it, independently of the principal parcel to which it has been made appurtenant as shown on the approved strata plan. Section 34(2) puts the same idea from the other direction: it prohibits dealing with or disposing of any rights in an accessory parcel separately from its principal parcel. Between them there is no room for the bay to be transferred, charged or sold on its own.
What that means for the deals owners actually do
Three common arrangements run into this. Selling a spare bay outright to a neighbour while keeping your unit — not a dealing the register can give effect to. Charging the bay to a bank separately from the unit — same problem. Renting it to a neighbour on a long informal arrangement — the tenancy is a contract between two people rather than an interest in the accessory parcel, so it survives only as long as both parties want it to, and it does not bind whoever buys either unit next.
Common-property bays are a different question
None of this applies to a bay that is common property rather than an accessory parcel. There, the question is not whether an individual owner can deal with it — they cannot, because it is not theirs — but whether the management body can allocate or rent it, which turns on the body's leasing powers and its additional by-laws. If you are being offered a bay by the management rather than by a neighbour, that is the framework to ask about.
Verify this against your own building
Get the strata plan and your SPA schedule and confirm in writing which bays are accessory parcels tied to your unit. Do this before you pay, not when you try to sell.
Buyer checklist
If the bay is an accessory parcel, it moves with the unit and only with the unit. Section 69 restricts dealing with it independently of the principal parcel to which it was made appurtenant on the approved strata plan, and s.34(2) prohibits dealing with or disposing of any rights in it separately. Selling your bay to a neighbour while keeping your unit is not a transaction the register will support.
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| 1 | Confirm from the strata plan whether the bay is an accessory parcel before agreeing any sale or long rental. |
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| 2 | If it is an accessory parcel, do not treat a private sale as capable of registration — ss.69 and 34(2) restrict it. |
| 3 | If you are paying a neighbour to use their bay, accept it as a contractual arrangement that ends when either unit is sold. |
| 4 | Do not assume a bank will accept a bay as separate security from the unit. |
| 5 | If the bay is common property, ask the management body for the by-law or resolution under which it is being allocated to you. |
Common questions
Can I sell my car park bay without selling my unit?
If it is an accessory parcel, no. Section 69 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 restricts dealing with it independently of the principal parcel, and s.34(2) prohibits dealing with or disposing of rights in it separately.
Can I rent my accessory parcel bay to a neighbour?
Any such arrangement operates as a contract between the two of you rather than as a dealing in the accessory parcel. It does not bind a future buyer of either unit.
Can a bank take my car park bay as separate security?
Not independently of the principal parcel, given the restrictions in ss.69 and 34(2). The bay follows the unit.
What about a bay that is common property?
An individual owner cannot deal with it at all because it is not theirs. Whether the management body can allocate or rent it depends on its leasing powers and its additional by-laws.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
Related reading
Use one buyer framework across different news.
Is your car park bay yours? Accessory parcel, common property or separate title
Section 4 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 defines an accessory parcel as a parcel shown in a strata plan used or intended to be used in conjunction with a parcel. That single classification decides whether the bay is yours, the scheme's, or the developer's — and the strata plan is where you check.
Lewis Conclusion
Ask for the strata plan and the SPA schedule before you pay, and get the answer in writing. Every parking dispute I have seen started with a buyer who was told verbally which bay was theirs and never checked which category it fell into.
Buying an extra bay: can it go into your housing loan?
Whether a bay can be financed with the housing loan follows from its legal status. An accessory parcel is tied to the principal parcel by ss.69 and 34(2) of Act 318 and cannot be dealt with separately — which is what makes it financeable with the unit rather than on its own.
Lewis Conclusion
Before you agree to buy an extra bay, ask the developer or seller one question in writing: is it an accessory parcel on the approved strata plan, appurtenant to which parcel? The financing question answers itself once you have that.
How your maintenance charge is actually calculated — share units, not floor area
Malaysian maintenance charges are apportioned by allocated share units under the Strata Management Act 2013, not by floor area — s.8(1) sends the computation to the First Schedule, and s.12(3), s.25(3) and s.60(3) apply it through the developer, JMB and MC periods. Here is how to read your own bill and when a different rate is lawful.
Lewis Conclusion
If you only remember one thing: ask for your share unit figure, not your square footage. It is the number that sets your bill and your vote for as long as you own the unit, and it is printed on documents you are entitled to see.
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Confirm from the strata plan whether the bay is an accessory parcel before agreeing any sale or long rental.
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If it is an accessory parcel, do not treat a private sale as capable of registration — ss.69 and 34(2) restrict it.
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If you are paying a neighbour to use their bay, accept it as a contractual arrangement that ends when either unit is sold.
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Do not assume a bank will accept a bay as separate security from the unit.