The law change has been put forward by the Association of Estonian Construction Companies and the Association of Real Estate Companies who want to amend the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Cooperative Act.

They suggest making parking lots separate items, rather than part of a dwelling, and freely transferable

Until now, a parking space has mostly been a mandatory addition to the purchase of an apartment, regardless of whether a buyer wants or needs it. 

"We believe that the current regulation, which obliges every developer to link a parking space to a specific apartment property, does not take into account today's market situation, where more and more people do not own a car and therefore do not need a parking space, especially in areas with well-functioning public transport," said economist Marie Allikmaa, head of the ministry's business department.

She said the regulation is burdensome and costly, especially for consumers who do not own a car or wish to buy one in the future.

Although the fee for a parking space is generally not included in the apartment price, Allikmaa said it is a significant additional cost for the buyer.

"If the parking spaces were the subject of a separate sales contract, developers would be able to sell the parking spaces to other interested parties, such as other residents in the same area or nearby businesses," Allikmaa said. 

Martin Vahter, CEO of real estate agent 1Partner Kinnisvara, said transferring a parking space has both pros and cons. "The plus is that a parking space can be bought by, for example, the owner of the house next door, who does not have a parking space, so this option actually makes parking spaces more mobile and liquid." 

However, Vahter said time and experience show there will eventually be a lack of parking spaces around the building.

"Around three to five years after the project is finished and the apartment is sold, people still come forward to buy a parking space, but by then it's too late and they have to start haggling on the market to find one," said Vahter.

The CEO added that there is no single answer to whether the change in the law is good or bad.

"It depends on whose interests we are looking at. The developer's interest is to get things done quickly, draw the line under the project, sum up the costs and revenues and sell the goods. The interest of the housing association, on the other hand, is to stop the parking spaces in the apartments from leaving the building and to keep the building tidy," he explained. 

"I still think today that it is not a good idea to sell parking spaces outside a building because then those who buy the parking space are not interested in the future of that particular building," said Vahter.

Situations can arise where a person who only owns a parking space has no interest in maintaining the house itself, repairing the roof, paying the cooperative fee or the repair fund, which is harmful for the apartment cooperative, he outlined. It would be more reasonable to rent out the parking space.

"I would say that if a developer builds a block of flats or an office building of some kind, then clients and visitors should also be able to park on the premises of the building or such a building. /.../ It is elementary that the residents of the building themselves should be able to park in their own parking space, but in fact people visiting the building should also be able to park in the parking space," he said.

The long-term situation needs to be kept in mind: "There are a lot of empty plots of land in the center of Tallinn, where there are parking lots today, but gradually, in decades to come, these plots will be filled up."

Allikmaa said Tallinn could launch a review of parking spaces to understand how they are used today and how future needs can be met.

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