Context: Our strata council recently emailed everyone saying they are auditing all registered vehicles in the parkade and asking residents to fill out a Vehicle Registration Form on the community website.
I do not own a personal car, but I sometimes rent from Budget, Avis, or Turo and park in my assigned underground stall. Since this whole registration process is new to me, I emailed our strata manager (let’s call him Manager A) to ask how this affects people like me.
My email:
"Hello,
Regarding this, how about homeowners who don’t have personal vehicles and only rent one when needed? How are we going to be affected by not having the numerous different cars we get in the vehicle registration?
Thank you.
OP"
His response:
"Hi OP,
Out of 18 years of managing over 100 strata buildings, this is the first question I have been asked like this. I do not think residents are renting and parking vehicles in the parkade.
If you rent vehicles and park in the parkade, then send an email advising of the situation and details of the business operation so we have a heads up.
I do not appreciate your ‘what if’ email but will assist with anything tangible and in line with helping building security.
Regards,
Manager A"
I was really caught off guard because I thought my question was simple and respectful. I am a first-time homeowner and still learning how strata rules work. I was not being hypothetical. I only wanted to understand the process. I replied with:
My follow-up:
"Hi,
If my message came across the wrong way, I apologize. That was not my intention. I am genuinely asking because I am a first-time homeowner.
I was not asking a ‘what if’ question. I meant to ask how the vehicle registration rules affect homeowners like me, especially since I only rent cars, which I park in my assigned stall. I am just trying to understand the process and was hoping for some guidance, so I was surprised at your reaction.
Thank you.
OP"
Now I am wondering if my original message somehow sounded off or if Manager A just overreacted.
AITA for asking a general question about vehicle registration as someone who does not own a car?
NTA. He overreacted. Everyone was told they had to register the cars they parked in their assigned place, you wanted to know what to do when you next rent a car and park it in yours. It’s better than doing nothing and having problems because a car that isn’t on the register is parked there.
Thanks. Yeah, I was hoping not to get in the strata’s bad side by bringing a rented car in and them worrying if it’s trespasser.
NTA – you were asking a genuine question and didn’t realise your situation was so uncommon. I think you caught him on a bad day and he saw your question as fascetious. You do get them – I was H&S officer for a while and you always got some wiseguy saying the treat table was a hazard as staff might get obese. Follow-up was fine but not needed really as he gave you the process which is give them a heads-up if situation occurs and they will amend system.
On the flipside, every system has exceptions needing special measures. I was once told by someone at a major tech company uswers who don’t fit into the standard systems were called “non-compliant” and after being “non-compliant” for many reasons, I find some people will take offense at my mere existance as it takes extra work. But you did nothing wrong.
That’s what I told my wife, too. That I may have caught him having a bad day. I honestly feel for any person in a career that has to deal with different types of people, but I thought I needed to clarify my email’s intent because I will be dealing with him for quite a while, and didn’t want to be in his naughty list.
It sounds like strata think that the homeowners are renting out their parking which is why they’re wanting to monitor the parking. Do the units have assigned parking or is it more like a parking lot?
The phrase “I don’t really appreciate your ‘what if’ email” combined with their “100 strata buildings managed” and “18 years” sounds like they think you’re just being annoying and asking various hypotheticals which is understandable since in this day and age a lot of people either own their cars or don’t depending on the area they live in, public transport etc.
Small NTA because the strata guy seems to have a chip on their shoulder and escalated the situation.
Each unit is assigned a parking space. I think you might be correct that the security issue is with other owners renting out their parking space, which brings outsiders access to our underground area, which can give access to other parts of the property. Thanks for the insight, that seems to explain why he’s jumpy regarding the topic. Seems serious enough.
If it’s assigned parking you should be able to write quick email that states “hi, just letting you know that unit 5, strata plan 1234 at Calt St will have a car there from X to Y date”. They’re not asking for a form at least. At the moment I’d probably shoot off a quick reply email saying something like “I understand the question is unusual however we prefer to use other modes of transport (such as bikes or public transport) and only rent a car when necessary.” And just end it by thanking them for quick reply.
I’ll also add that if a parking space is being rented or using different rentals a lot out it could be that a unit is being used as an Airbnb which probably isn’t allowed.
NTA – you referred to ‘homeowners who only rent cars’ as ‘we’ first off and then his response was pretty assumptuous even given he missed that context.
Yeah, I think he didn’t read or missed it when I mentioned “we”, meaning I am part of those affected, and jumped to the conclusion that I was asking a useless hypothetical. I think it’s the first time in 18 years that he has dealt with a homeowner without a car. Thanks for confirming.
NTA…Even if your question was a “what if” (it wasn’t), they have an obligation to maintain professionalism while doing a job. They should also already have an answer for you if they’re going to respond to you. This was just an unpleasant individual.
NTA. It was a simple question and one can only assume the manager was having a bad day (perhaps many of them, as he seems quite sour).
But your initial question could have been clearer. Although implied by your use of “we”, your initial message does not say that you are a homeowner that faces that situation. Saying so, for example, by writing “homeowners like myself” in place of “homeowners”, would have made clear that you were asking a real, highly relevant question.
You’re NTA. You were simply asking what you need to do to stay in compliance with the rules.
>I do not appreciate your ‘what if’ email but will assist with anything tangible and in line with helping building security. Regards, Manager A”
What an asshole response. That was totally unnecessary. Once your question was answered, this person should have stopped typing.
Manager A is giving off some *just do what I say and don’t you dare question me* uber defensive vibes.
NTA
The manager who answered is definitely TA