Academy/Parking, Roads & Vehicles
Assigned parking
Two spaces can look identical and have completely different legal protection.
An assigned parking space is a spot the board designates for one unit's use, and it is only as secure as the paperwork behind it. A space recorded in the declaration as a limited common element runs with the unit and survives a sale. A space merely assigned by board rule or letter is unrecorded, and the board can typically reassign or revoke it.
Recorded, or just assigned?
The word "assigned" gets used for two very different things, and the difference is not the space, it is the paperwork. Under the model act many states have adopted, a limited common element is a portion of the common elements set aside in the recorded declaration for the exclusive use of fewer than all units. The defining feature is that the allocation happens in the declaration itself, not in a later board memo.
"Limited common element" means a portion of the common elements allocated by the declaration... for the exclusive use of one or more but fewer than all of the units.
Source: Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (Vermont Statutes Title 27A §1-103), State of Vermont
A space that was only ever assigned by board rule, a sign-up sheet, or a friendly email from the manager was never recorded that way. It is still part of the general common elements, just borrowed by one unit for now.
Florida's "textbook" example is custom, not statute
Practitioners often call an assigned parking space the textbook example of a Florida limited common element. It is worth knowing that Florida's own condominium statute never actually says that.
"Limited common elements" means those common elements which are reserved for the use of a certain unit or units to the exclusion of all other units, as specified in the declaration.
Source: Florida Statutes §718.103, The Florida Senate
The statute defines the category, and the word "parking" is nowhere in it. Whether a given space counts still comes down to the same test as everywhere else: is it named in the recorded declaration, or not.
What this means for your board
A restriction actually written into the recorded declaration is presumed reasonable and is hard for a board to unwind on its own. A board rule assigning a specific space, made under a general rule-making clause, gets deference only when it is made in good faith and stays within the authority the declaration actually grants the board. Both standards discussed here come from California case law and are widely cited elsewhere as persuasive, not binding, authority; confirm your own state's standard for reviewing a declaration restriction or a board rule.
Practically: before you promise an owner their space is permanent, or tell them the board can move it, pull the declaration and any recorded plat or exhibit. If the space is named there as a limited common element, treat it like real property. If it only shows up in meeting minutes or a rule book, treat it as a license the board can change.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
The board emails an owner assigning parking space 14 to their unit. The declaration says nothing about space 14. Two years later, the board wants to reassign the space to someone else. Can it?
An owner is selling their unit. Their parking space was recorded as a limited common element in the declaration. What happens to the space at closing?
A Florida practitioner's website calls an assigned parking space "the textbook limited common element." What does the actual Florida condominium statute say about parking?
Parking, Roads & Vehicles
Next, learn how a limited common element differs in practice from a general common area everyone shares.
Whether your assigned space is a recorded limited common element or a revocable board assignment depends on your declaration's exact wording and your state's condominium or HOA statute. The standard for reviewing a written restriction versus a board rule also varies by state.