Parking

Toronto Parking Rules: Don’t Sweat It

Share This Post:

Do you ever find yourself circling the block waiting for a spot to open up? You’re not alone. With more and more of us cramming into the city, parking is at a premium. Is parking on your list of must haves?

When it comes to Toronto parking rules, it’s not as simple as you might think. Would you be happy with a mutual drive? Are you looking for a private drive or a front pad? Or, are you willing to take what you can get with good old fashioned street parking?

Option 1

For $15.06/month you can join the herds of street parkers. To get more info and to find out if it’s even available on your street check out the city’s site.

Option 2

The mutual driveway. They’re narrow, so good luck getting anything bigger than a fiat down. Besides that, as the name tells you, it’s shared. You and your neighbour share the space and in many cases by the time you squeeze your way into the backyard, you end up more or less parked on your back lawn. Hey, like I said parking’s hard to come by so either suck it up or pass on the mutual.

Ah, the front pad. The most common and often most illegitimate form of city parking. There was a time where anyone could just tear up a bit of grass, throw down a few bricks and voila, call it a pad. This is where buyers need to be cautious. Is it legit? A few things to consider:

In a lot of cases, agents might include “front pad parking” in the listing, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal! It’s up to you to do some digging. Check here to see if it’s registered.

Get this. When you buy a house, you aren’t necessarily buying the parking, crazy right? The license for front yard parking is automatically transferred to you, the new owner, you actually have to apply for it.

And last but not least, the coveted, envy of the neighbourhood, cream of the crop of parking, the private drive. You own the space, it’s part of your property and that’s that so park away, worry free!

How much can a parking space add to the value of your house?

As a seller, having a private driveway or a pad can add up to as much as $50,000 to the value of your property – cha-ching! Definitely an investment worth considering. Just make sure you follow all of the rules, and when I say all I mean ALL – there’s a laundry list of do’s and don’ts. The last thing you need is the City slapping you on the wrist for Toronto parking rules that you broke.