What is the minimum size of a parking space?
The regulations setting the dimensions a parking space must have vary depending on the municipality where the space is located, since each town has a General Urban Development Plan (Plan General de Ordenación Urbana) or planning rules that regulate the minimum dimensions of parking spaces, which, although similar, differ slightly:
Under the municipal regulations of Madrid (the Madrid General Urban Development Plan), a medium-sized parking space must measure at least 2.25 m wide by 4.50 m long.
However, in Barcelona, for example, under the regulations in force since 1998, the minimum dimensions of a medium-sized parking space can be slightly narrower: 2.20 metres wide by 4.50 metres long.
The rules are updated over time (as our cars tend to get bigger). The General Urban Development Plan of Málaga, for example, in force since 2011, requires spaces to be roomier, with each space measuring at least 2.5 metres wide by 5 metres long.
In addition, the relevant rules include tolerance margins and wider dimensions where a fixed element borders the space, and there are mandatory dimensions for access routes, aisles, ramps, etc.
However, the regulations and the final grant of a licence, which are subject to changing rules and criteria, as case law states, have merely administrative effects, and do not mean that, in civil law, the parking space is declared usable or fit for purpose, especially given how quickly these rules become outdated.
The fact that a space only just meets the minimum dimensions and has been granted a licence does not necessarily mean that it is usable, since it must first meet the minimum functionality requirements of article 3.1.a) of the LOE.
And as the well-known Supreme Court judgment of 9 July 2007 states, the fact that they meet the planning requirements and administrative formalities required for their use is not decisive; whether the object of the sale is unusable is the result of a legal assessment which, above all, has a factual component, and which results from the empirical verification of the circumstances that, in accordance with the case-law definition, lead to a finding that the object is unusable or unfit for its normal purpose, for which a certain degree of seriousness obstructing the normal enjoyment of the thing for that purpose is sufficient (judgments of 28 May 2001 and 28 November 2003), or that its use becomes seriously irritating or bothersome (judgments of 24 January 2001 and 28 November 2003), and it must be considered essential, as the aforementioned judgment of 28 November 2003 points out, following the doctrine of the judgment of 24 May 1991 and the earlier ones cited therein, that parking spaces must be suitable for their intended purpose, a suitability that covers both their dimensions and the access to them. And it must be accepted that establishing this unsuitability, to that extent, requires more than a mere visual examination of the parking space; its actual and repeated use is necessary to verify the degree of difficulty or hardship that ultimately renders the object of the contract unusable”.
In other words, if you have to make repeated and irritating manoeuvres to park your vehicle in your space, even though an administrative licence was granted, you may have a claim.
If you would like to ask us which regulations or minimum dimensions apply to your parking space, and to check whether your space could be unusable, contact us. DPcon Reclamación daños constructivos.
Any questions?