Property manager leasing out carpark but not remitting income

Dear All,

I may have stumbled over a bit of a tricky issue. I have an inner-city unit in QLD that I rent out to short term (primarily corporate) tenants. It is managed by the on-site manager who has done a good job of marketing the property to adjoining offices/businesses and the returns are fairly decent and it allows flexibility for owner's use of the apartment when required.

The unit has a basement carpark, but I would imagine most of the occupants are flying in from interstate and do not have a car. I am starting to suspect that the property manager may be renting out the carpark seperately to long term tenants of the building as the short term tenants don't need carparks. I am not against that in principal, but if they are earning income from doing that then I feel it it should be remitted to the owner (less mgmt fees).

Does anyone have a view on the legality of this? Are there any clearly stated rules I can find on the net? A quick google hasn't helped. I do not have any black & white evidence of this but I have a few ideas on how I could get some if needed. To be honest I would prefer not to drag the manager of the coals as they generally do a good job, but things like this should not happen.

Thanks for your help!

Dan
 
Why not simply contact the manager and ask if you can rent out the carpark separately to the unit?

This will show the manager you are aware of a possible additional income stream.
Marg
 
hi marg, a good suggestion - but i actually asked them exactly that question when i settled on the unit, as i had a friend who worked nearby and would have been happy to rent the carpark. they stated that they needed the carpark for the short term tenants as it improved the value/marketability of the unit...!
 
It is always going to be tricky. From past experience, I was living in Spring Hill in serviced apartments for a few months (way back when Noah was a lad). The first month my car was in Sydney, then I had it sent to Brisbane. My parking space was vacant during that period.

How will the building manager know if and for how long that they are able to offer a parking space in the building? Short term tenants may or may not have a car but can hire one for some/all of their stay. Just because they don't arrive with a car doesn't mean they can't go down to the Hertz depot in Mary St and pick one up at any time.
 
i am completely ok with the property manager renting out the carpark to whoever they see fit - short term occupants of my unit, short term occupants of other units, long term occupants of other units, adjoining office tenants... etc etc...

but if they rent out the carpark separately to the unit then i feel the owner should receive the carpark rental income minus the agreed letting fees. at the moment i believe they are renting out the carpark separately, earning additional income from this, and i am receiving $0. that is what i am concerned about and keen to get feedback on.
 
Try "mystery shopping" the agent. Simply ring yourself or get someone else to do it with you in the room.

State that you have heard that there may be a car space available from time to time?

If the agent says no..you have no problem, if they start a dialogue, get the information you want ( how much, how often is it available etc) and then take it from there later to get your payment.
 
If someone is renting out your property, or part of it, and pocketing the money & there is no agreement to do so, then under most systems that would be theft.

I think that is what you were asking for.

Double check all your agreements.
 
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