Residents of Longguan Guanhua Garden in Beiqijia Town, Changping District, have reported chaotic parking management within the community: on‑street parking spaces are not assigned, leading to frequent disputes over available spots. Additionally, unauthorized vehicles enter and park in the complex without oversight. Under these circumstances, the property management has also begun charging a fee for the use of on‑street parking, sparking resident dissatisfaction. Today (October 29), the property management responded, stating that it is currently working to standardize parking regulations.
Most residents of the community park their cars in the free on‑site parking spaces, but a significant number of out‑of‑town vehicles also park here. Photo by Zhang Jingya, Beijing News.
Charging management fees for on-street parking spaces has drawn residents’ dissatisfaction.
Mr. Li, a homeowner, said that since moving into the community in 2017, the underground parking spaces have remained inaccessible, leaving residents with no choice but to park in the surface lots. On October 19 this year, the property management suddenly posted a notice announcing that the surface parking spaces would be designated as permanent spots and converted into paid spaces via a lottery system, with a monthly management fee of 150 yuan.
Mr. Li stated that the property management has neither managed nor maintained the temporary parking spaces within the community, and therefore should not be charging fees for them. Furthermore, although the community comprises more than 900 households, there are only about 100 on‑street parking spaces. As for winning a lot in the lottery, he is not optimistic. If he does not win, he will have no choice but to park in the community’s temporary spaces, mechanical parking spots, or outside the premises.
In the community, temporary parking spaces cost RMB 1 per hour, while underground mechanical parking spaces are RMB 350 per month—and they’re of the lift‑and‑lower type, which isn’t very convenient to operate. “The property management can charge for surface parking too, but at least they should get the service right first,” said Mr. Li.
A large number of non-resident vehicles are occupying residents’ parking spaces.
Mr. Zhang, a resident of the community, said that in the past two years, there were still relatively few households, and the on‑street parking spaces largely met residents’ needs. However, as more and more people moved into the complex, a daily “battle for parking spots” has become commonplace. Every afternoon around 3 o’clock, elderly residents wheel their tricycles to secure parking spaces for their children.
“One day, I got off work late and returned to the residential complex to find that even the landscaped areas were packed with cars. The parking situation throughout the community was utterly chaotic.” Moreover, Mr. Zhang noted that many non‑residents’ vehicles were also occupying parking spaces. “All it takes is for a visitor to claim they’re here on business—just leave their name and phone number—and they can park in the complex for free. On weekends, some out‑of‑town cars will stay for two days without moving at all.”
Now that the property management has started charging for parking, it should improve its previous services and put a stop to unauthorized vehicles parking in the community free of charge. “We hope that, with parking fees in place, the management will also step up its oversight and address the chaotic parking situation in the community—at the very least, ensuring that those of us who pay our dues have a place to park.”
Residents have complained that the multi-level parking spaces in the underground garage are not tall enough. Photo by Zhang Jingya, a reporter for The Beijing News.
Some residents buy parking spaces to rent out.
On October 27, a reporter from The Beijing News observed that nearly every available space in the residential community was filled with cars, with vehicles even parked on the green spaces. At the Guanhua Yuan property management center, more than a dozen residents were eagerly vying to purchase parking spaces with ownership rights. “Right now, all the underground-level parking spaces with ownership have already sold out,” an employee at the property management center said. Prices for these spaces range from 170,000 to 200,000 yuan, and since sales began last week, they were quickly snapped up; only multi‑level parking spots on the second basement level remain.
Homeowner Mr. Song said he has already purchased an underground parking space on the basement level but does not plan to use it himself in the near term. “In the coming days, I’ll sublet the space at a reduced rate and reclaim it when we need it,” he explained. He added that many other residents in the complex are taking the same approach. “After all, there are very few surface‑level parking spots available for just 150 yuan per month,” he noted. As long as the rent is lower than the 350 yuan per month charged for an underground spot, he’s confident there will be no shortage of tenants.
Some residents are also dissatisfied with the underground multi‑level parking spaces. “The bays are too close together; if the technology isn’t up to par, parking becomes a major hassle,” said Ms. Liu. Moreover, the height of the stacked parking spots is rather limited, leaving some taller vehicles unable to fit.
Property Management Response: Parking秩序 is being gradually standardized.
In response, a staff member from Guanhua Yuan Property Management stated that, since the community’s units have been continuously on the market, no parking fees had been collected until recently. However, starting in 2018, as the number of residents grew and parking spaces became increasingly scarce, parking chaos intensified, with instances of unauthorized occupation of parking spots becoming more frequent. Moreover, some residents even came close to clashing while vying for parking spaces.
Recently, the property management has launched measures to address the chaotic parking situation in the community and gradually standardize parking秩序. By selling designated parking spaces with ownership rights, assigning fixed on‑ground parking spots, and registering all vehicles in the complex, they aim to alleviate the disorder. “We will plan and maintain the on‑ground parking spaces, charging a management fee rather than a parking fee. Moreover, since the number of on‑ground spaces is limited, we can only allocate them through a lottery system,” a property management representative explained. Drivers who do not win a lot will have the option of parking in the underground garage.
Meanwhile, property management staff stated that they will strengthen vehicle access control within the community by registering license plate numbers and impose a fee of one yuan per hour on visiting vehicles to prevent them from occupying parking spaces.
