Toronto Front Yard Parking Space Does NOT Automatically Go With The Home

In many City of Toronto neighbourhoods it is quite common for detached and semi-detached houses to have been originally constructed with either no onsite parking or a mutual drive that was made too narrow for a modern car to use.

Over the past 20-30 years, many home owners have solved the problem by applying to install either driveway widening (if there was an existing unusable mutual drive) or front yard parking (if no parking space ever existed). In either case, the home owner had to apply to the City for a permit to install the new parking space.

In recent years there has been a lot of resistance from City authorities to people installing front yard parking spaces and limited approvals were given to driveway widening applications.

The problem with front yard parking is that a curb cut has to be made, thereby most often removing a street parking space – the net gain in parking spaces is therefore zero. And, the ‘paving over’ of front yards contributes to water runoff into the storm sewer system instead of being absorbed into the soil.

In fact, the old borough of East York is one of the few areas in Toronto where it may still be possible to even get a new permit for driveway widening. Front yard parking approvals these days are virtually non-existent.

So, what happens when you buy a semi or detached house that has either of these parking options currently in existence?

First, be sure that the parking space is legal. The owner should have a small metal license plate mounted on the edge of the front verandah in plain sight indicating that the spot is legal.

Each January the owner needs to pay a fee to the City of Toronto to maintain the permission to park. If that fee is not paid, the City may revoke the parking permit and it might be extremely difficult to renew it. The City can charge this fee because the land used for the parking is actually in most cases owned by the City.

As a purchaser, you should ask your Realtor to include a clause in your offer requiring the seller to provide proof that the parking space is legal and that any City permit fees have been paid up-to-date.

Once you take possession of your new home, you’ll need to apply (with a City fee of $69) to transfer the parking permit over to you.

To quote the City of Toronto website…

Please note that an official letter with property information, which may be required to complement an offer of purchase and sale, may be requested in writing from the appropriate District office. The fee for such a letter is $62.67 (incl. GST), which can be submitted by a cheque payable to “Treasurer, City of Toronto”

CLICK HERE to verify that the property you’re interested in has legal front yard parking or legal driveway widening.

The City sent the Toronto Real Estate Board a letter earlier this year reminding Realtors that the licences for on-site parking do NOT go automatically with a new owner… read it here.

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