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27-11-2010, 06:54 AM
Perhaps as people get richer, they get nastier? 
I mean, hey, if you can afford to own 3 or 4 cars, what's the problem with paying $300 to $400 more per car to park it? And what's a $150 clamp fee compared to the amount of moolah you have? 
Nov 27, 2010
Parking disputes get nasty at condo
Residents riled by new rules that see their cars clamped
By Amanda Tan
Tempers are flaring at a condominium in Marine Parade over fees which residents who own more than one car have to pay.
Cars have been clamped, heated arguments have raged at management council meetings and police reports have been lodged following a row at The Seaview.
Some council members even claimed they had been harassed by residents.
It is the latest in a string of disputes over parking issues at condos, where space is at a premium due to high land prices and space constraints. But it is one of the few to turn ugly.
Sixteen cars were clamped at The Seaview in a single day, on Nov 8. And about 30 cars have been clamped in total, because their owners did not comply with the rules. Residents have to pay about $150 each to have the clamps removed.
The chairman of the management council, Ms L.K. Tan, told The Straits Times that an unhappy resident banged on her door early in the morning to demand explanations about the parking rules. She said the resident later snatched a security guard's keys and unlocked a wheel clamp.
Residents who complied with the rules and paid the fees were also allegedly threatened that their cars would be scratched, The Straits Times has learnt.
The dispute arose when the management council started enforcing parking fees for owners with more than one car. Each home owner at the 546-unit condo, which is more than two years old and has local and expatriate residents, is allowed one free parking space.
The fees were put in place at the condo's first annual general meeting last year. Car owners were supposed to pay $120 a month for their second vehicle, $150 for the third, and $200 for the fourth. But because there were still ample parking spaces for those with more than one car, the management did not make the residents pay the fees.
Last month, during a review of parking spaces at a council meeting, members found that spaces at the estate were oversubscribed, with 652 vehicle registrations for 546 spaces available for residents. To solve the problem, the management council started enforcing the payment rule and raised fees for the third and fourth car to $300 and $400 respectively. It has since reduced the amounts for all cars by $50.
Residents unhappy with the rule said there are enough parking spaces and questioned why it is being enforced now.
A housewife, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Lum, said six residents surveyed the carpark over two nights last week and found there were enough free spaces. 'I don't know why the management says the carpark is full when it is not. It is unjustified,' the 61-year-old said.
She added that she does 'not mind paying if the management can prove that it is more than 86 per cent occupied'.
The new rules were enforced on Nov 8, after one week of reminders to residents to pay for their extra vehicles, said the council. Police confirmed several reports against unruly residents had been lodged and said they are looking into the matter.
The council has engaged a lawyer, Mr Samuel Seow of Samuel Seow Law Corporation, to act on its behalf. It is looking into possible defamation and criminal charges.
Not all residents are unhappy with the new rules. Analyst Tan Jit Ming, 37, who has two cars, said: 'It's only fair that you pay if you want more than your entitlement.'
It is not uncommon for condos, especially the newer ones, to impose parking fees for a resident's second car onwards.
Mr Francis Zhan, chief executive of the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore, said: 'Due to land constraints and the increasing price of space, newer condos have less space than the older ones, which may have ratios like 1.5 lots per household.'
The Straits Times reported in April that police were called to mediate after security guards towed away a family's Mercedes at a condo in Hillview Avenue.
tamanda@sph.com.sg
I mean, hey, if you can afford to own 3 or 4 cars, what's the problem with paying $300 to $400 more per car to park it? And what's a $150 clamp fee compared to the amount of moolah you have? Nov 27, 2010
Parking disputes get nasty at condo
Residents riled by new rules that see their cars clamped
By Amanda Tan
Tempers are flaring at a condominium in Marine Parade over fees which residents who own more than one car have to pay.
Cars have been clamped, heated arguments have raged at management council meetings and police reports have been lodged following a row at The Seaview.
Some council members even claimed they had been harassed by residents.
It is the latest in a string of disputes over parking issues at condos, where space is at a premium due to high land prices and space constraints. But it is one of the few to turn ugly.
Sixteen cars were clamped at The Seaview in a single day, on Nov 8. And about 30 cars have been clamped in total, because their owners did not comply with the rules. Residents have to pay about $150 each to have the clamps removed.
The chairman of the management council, Ms L.K. Tan, told The Straits Times that an unhappy resident banged on her door early in the morning to demand explanations about the parking rules. She said the resident later snatched a security guard's keys and unlocked a wheel clamp.
Residents who complied with the rules and paid the fees were also allegedly threatened that their cars would be scratched, The Straits Times has learnt.
The dispute arose when the management council started enforcing parking fees for owners with more than one car. Each home owner at the 546-unit condo, which is more than two years old and has local and expatriate residents, is allowed one free parking space.
The fees were put in place at the condo's first annual general meeting last year. Car owners were supposed to pay $120 a month for their second vehicle, $150 for the third, and $200 for the fourth. But because there were still ample parking spaces for those with more than one car, the management did not make the residents pay the fees.
Last month, during a review of parking spaces at a council meeting, members found that spaces at the estate were oversubscribed, with 652 vehicle registrations for 546 spaces available for residents. To solve the problem, the management council started enforcing the payment rule and raised fees for the third and fourth car to $300 and $400 respectively. It has since reduced the amounts for all cars by $50.
Residents unhappy with the rule said there are enough parking spaces and questioned why it is being enforced now.
A housewife, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Lum, said six residents surveyed the carpark over two nights last week and found there were enough free spaces. 'I don't know why the management says the carpark is full when it is not. It is unjustified,' the 61-year-old said.
She added that she does 'not mind paying if the management can prove that it is more than 86 per cent occupied'.
The new rules were enforced on Nov 8, after one week of reminders to residents to pay for their extra vehicles, said the council. Police confirmed several reports against unruly residents had been lodged and said they are looking into the matter.
The council has engaged a lawyer, Mr Samuel Seow of Samuel Seow Law Corporation, to act on its behalf. It is looking into possible defamation and criminal charges.
Not all residents are unhappy with the new rules. Analyst Tan Jit Ming, 37, who has two cars, said: 'It's only fair that you pay if you want more than your entitlement.'
It is not uncommon for condos, especially the newer ones, to impose parking fees for a resident's second car onwards.
Mr Francis Zhan, chief executive of the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore, said: 'Due to land constraints and the increasing price of space, newer condos have less space than the older ones, which may have ratios like 1.5 lots per household.'
The Straits Times reported in April that police were called to mediate after security guards towed away a family's Mercedes at a condo in Hillview Avenue.
tamanda@sph.com.sg
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