Owner Can't Interfere with Tenant's Exclusive Use of Parking Spaces

March 1, 2003

A lease gave the tenant exclusive use of a designated “control area” in a parking lot, for parking. The tenant asked the owner to paint three additional spaces in the control area. The owner did so and posted a “Reserved” sign by these spaces. After the tenant complained about unauthorized cars in the spaces, the owner said it could tow such cars. But other tenants complained. So the owner put up a new sign that said “maintenance staff cars only.” When the tenant protested, the owner removed the sign but painted “no parking” on the spaces.

A lease gave the tenant exclusive use of a designated “control area” in a parking lot, for parking. The tenant asked the owner to paint three additional spaces in the control area. The owner did so and posted a “Reserved” sign by these spaces. After the tenant complained about unauthorized cars in the spaces, the owner said it could tow such cars. But other tenants complained. So the owner put up a new sign that said “maintenance staff cars only.” When the tenant protested, the owner removed the sign but painted “no parking” on the spaces. The tenant sued the owner, asking the court to stop the owner from interfering with the tenant's exclusive use of the spaces.

A Connecticut appeals court ruled that the owner couldn't interfere with the tenant's exclusive use of the three parking spaces and ordered the owner to repaint the spaces for the tenant's exclusive use. The court rejected the owner's argument that the tenant didn't have a right to these spaces because they were created after the lease was signed. The lease clearly gave the tenant exclusive use of the entire control area, not just the spaces in the area that existed when the lease was signed, said the court [Marquardt and Roche/Meditz and Hackett, Inc. v. Riverbend Executive Ctr., Inc.].

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