Using a parking bay for 22 years. Does that make you its owner?
Can long-standing use of a parking bay override the accessory parcel recorded in a strata title?
A parking bay may have been used by the same household for years. But what happens when the strata title shows that it belongs to another unit?
In Chan Pui Ee v William Teh Tze Wei [2026] MLRHU 2550, the High Court in Georgetown considered whether an alleged allocation error and a long-standing parking arrangement justified changing the accessory parcels recorded in two strata titles.
Background
The plaintiff owned an apartment whose registered accessory parcel was parking bay A39. The defendant owned the neighbouring apartment, with parking bay A46 registered to his unit.
The earlier owners had used the bays in the opposite arrangement. In 2004, the developer’s surveyor wrote to them identifying discrepancies and requesting surrender of their titles for rectification. According to the plaintiff, they instead agreed to continue using the bays as before.
The defendant purchased his apartment together with A46 in 2015. The plaintiff received her apartment from her uncle by a deed of gift in 2021.
In 2025, the managing agent instructed the plaintiff to park at A39, in accordance with her title. She then sought court orders to exchange the registered accessory parcels, relying on the surveyor’s letters and an arrangement said to have continued for approximately 22 years.
What did the court decide?
The High Court dismissed the claim on 30 July 2026.
The plaintiff had not sufficiently proved that a clerical or developer’s mistake caused the registered allocation. The surveyor’s letters were not conclusive. Supporting Land Office records or relevant developer records had not been produced to substantiate the alleged error.
Evidence that the plaintiff’s uncle had used A46 did not establish that the bay belonged to her unit. The property manager’s records were consistent with the registered allocation.
The court also found that the defendant was a subsequent purchaser in good faith for valuable consideration, without knowledge of the surveyor’s letters or the alleged discrepancy. The plaintiff had not established grounds to defeat his registered title.
The long delay in pursuing rectification also weighed against the plaintiff. Although the court rejected the defendant’s statutory limitation argument, it took account of delay and acquiescence in refusing relief.
What should owners and management take note of?
Using a parking bay for many years does not, by itself, make you its owner. If the strata title records the bay as belonging to another unit, you must provide sufficient evidence to establish that the registered allocation is wrong before the court will order it to be changed.
This decision does not mean that a genuine title error can never be corrected. It shows why the alleged error must be established through the relevant records, particularly where another owner has subsequently purchased in reliance on the title.
Owners buying or receiving a strata property should check that the parking bay identified on site corresponds with the accessory parcel recorded in the title and strata plan. Any discrepancy should be investigated before it becomes a dispute with a subsequent purchaser.
For JMBs, MCs and property managers, complaints about swapped or wrongly numbered bays should prompt a review of the titles, strata plans and allocation records. Management should distinguish an arrangement permitting use from a claim requiring correction of registered ownership. A management letter cannot itself amend a strata title.
