Tenants sharing single lane driveway

Tenants sharing single lane driveway

Investor · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote

Hello BP!

I have a duplex that has a single lane narrow driveway with a two car garage in the back. 

To be honest, the two car garage does not make much sense because there is not enough room at the end of the driveway to even fit two cars side by side in order to fit them into the garage. 

So in reality I have a single car driveway. 

I have been living in the upper apartment (house hacking) and have had full access to the driveway and garage while the tenants in the lower apartment have parked on the street.

However, during the winter there is no street parking allowed. So we shared the drive way for the winter parking our cars in the order of who leaves first every day. This was not a huge issue as we worked well with my tenants. 

I am now moving out and into my next house (still house hacking) and will be finding new tenants to rent the upper apartment. 

I would think the best way to use the driveway/garage is to give the option to either the lower or upper apartment with a up charge in rent ($50-$75). And the other apartment will have to use street parking? 

When winter comes around, the upper and lower apartment will have no choice really other then to work it out between them selves? 

I'm looking for thoughts, opinions, ideas on the best way for the drive way to be used in this situation. 

Thank you!

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Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
10y

Is there not room to widen the driveway, at least to allow sided by side parking/maneuvering between the street and the garage.  If I were renting, I'd never rent something like this.

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  • Nathan MillerPro Member
    Property Manager · Grants Pass, OR · Member since 2009 · 429 posts · 201 votes
    10y

    The added rent for garage access is a great idea.  I imagine it would be a highly sought after upgrade.  I would recommend writing parking instructions into the agreement with both parties though so if there's ever a dispute you have legal grounds.

  • Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    10y

    Is there not room to widen the driveway, at least to allow sided by side parking/maneuvering between the street and the garage.  If I were renting, I'd never rent something like this.

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2012 · 66 posts · 30 votes
    10y
    I agree^^ Does your lower tenant currently use the garage? For storage space? At least for here in Portland, you could get more than that for garage and driveway access.
  • Engineer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    having the tenants "work out" between themselves a known material issue is poor business.  Give any tenant full disclosure of the parking issue and charge a premium for the advantaged party and a discount for the disadvantaged one.

  • Investor · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    I completely understand that it is by no means an ideal situation. But it is what I have to work with.

    At most I would be able to throw some gravel down on the one side to create an extra two feet of room for the end of the driveway how ever, you would still need to be a skilled driver to pull your car in safely. 

    My lower tenant uses the garage to store his motorcycle currently but that is it. 

    So you think for driveway and garage access it should be more like $100 additional, and then maybe a lower rent for the apartment that does not have driveway/garage access? 

  • Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2015 · 374 posts · 120 votes
    10y

    Charge 1 or 2 tenants for the right to the driveway and garage.  The others must park on the street.  Simple, easy and more money in your pocket. 

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2008 · 123 posts · 73 votes
    10y

    While I agree with the others that you should charge for access to the driveway and garage, it doesn't help your winter situation at all. Can you really justify charging the full amount during the winter? I would probably put something in the lease about the winter sharing deal, but you should expect the occasional problem with one tenant blocking access to the other's car, etc. It's not an enviable situation to be in. Hope for reasonable tenants who can get along 

  • Grove City, OH · Member since 2016 · 167 posts · 66 votes
    10y

    can you park on both sides of the 2 car garage? To where you could rent one side to one tenant and one side to the other that way only 1 car is ever in the driveway and only one car could ever need moved rather then 2. Then you can up charge year round for the 2 people who park in the garage.

  • Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2015 · 374 posts · 120 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Steve Moody:

    While I agree with the others that you should charge for access to the driveway and garage, it doesn't help your winter situation at all. Can you really justify charging the full amount during the winter? I would probably put something in the lease about the winter sharing deal, but you should expect the occasional problem with one tenant blocking access to the other's car, etc. It's not an enviable situation to be in. Hope for reasonable tenants who can get along 

     You need to let them know that this charge is unwavering.  If there is a major snowstorm, they need to park on the street until the driveway is clear.  I can't prevent nature.

  • Investor · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    How do other landlords deal with driveways where street parking is not allowed during the winter? 

    Obviously, if you have a drive way where two cars fit next to each other its not an issue. 

    But if that's not the case, then what is the best possible way to manage it?

  • Rental Property Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 338 posts · 332 votes
    10y

    Maybe you can lease a driveway spot from a neighbor. There's probably a grandma somewhere who lives alone with one car.

  • Investor · Edwardsville, IL · Member since 2015 · 432 posts · 481 votes
    10y
    I think what I would do to keep the tenants happy is change off monthly during the Winter months on who gets to park in the garage. December tenant A. January tenant B gets the garage. This would be a tenant bonus for putting up with the driveway situation. You could also just rent to tenants with Smart cars!
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    10y

    A picture would be worth a thousand threads here.

    Skyline Properties
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  • Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    Is this property originally a two unit property or has it been converted? Sounds like you have a situation that is going to be difficult. Have you considered turning it back into a single family property?

  • Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    Sounds to me that if both parties put their cars in their garages there's not an issue, because obviously it's wide enough to have 2 garages next to each other. Is that correct?

    So, I would specify that there's no driveway parking, but that cars will have to be parked inside the garage and then there's no problem. 

    If someone needs extra storage space they should rent a storage space and if they choose to use the garage for storage, then they can't park in the driveway and will have to figure out what to do. 

  • Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    I'm rereading your post: Do you have a 2 car garage or do you have a single car garage that's larger than a single car, but not wide enough to accommodate 2 cars? 

  • Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    Do you know if your required to provide parking by city for your residence? the city might have minimum number of parking spaces required so see if that applies.  If no restrictions you may consider just renting to main tenant the parking privileges at a additional monthly premium. NO juggling cars or hassles with that.  

    Advertise that parking is not included with your rent. No surprises some people don't need or have a car. 

    We had a 6 plex with shared a narrow 1 car width driveway, at the rear we had parking for 4 cars. You needed a can opener to pull in and out of the spaces. The city had minimum of 4 spaces we were required to have,if someone moved I offered parking to the next in line.. I always loved the tenant that had bikes, and took the bus. The building next to us had parking for 4 cars. It was always a nightmare. Tow truck was on alert for blocked driveway and blocked parking areas.

    If there is anyway feasible to pave a small area along side the garage or driveway to accommodate 1 additional car I would make the improvement. 

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