Drive through almost any multifamily development in a popular urban area today, and you'll likely notice the same scene: drivers circling for spots, vehicles crammed into every available space, and frustrated residents forced to leave home and find parking elsewhere.

As urban areas grow and car ownership holds steady, parking at multifamily communities is becoming a growing challenge.

Transition from parking minimums to parking maximums

For decades, cities required developers to provide a set number of parking spaces per housing unit — known as parking minimums. However, many cities are now moving in the opposite direction, imposing parking maximums that limit the number of spaces developers can include in new buildings.

This shift reflects a broader trend toward sustainability and walkability, with many cities like Portland and San Francisco leading the way in reducing parking requirements. These policies aim to reduce car dependency, encourage the use of public transportation, and create an overall “greener” world. 

For developers, these changes are often a welcome relief, because parking is expensive. On average, every space in a parking structure costs $20,000-$40,000 to build. By reducing the number of required spaces, developers can increase profitability without sacrificing valuable square footage. 

The negative impact is being felt by communities, though. As the number of parking spots per unit drops, parking shortages are becoming especially common at multifamily properties. This squeeze only gets tighter when you consider the increase in co-living in the United States. 

More roommates, not enough spots

In 2022, the United States hit a record low in housing supply, and we’ve yet to recover. Due to the highest mortgage rates in two decades, more people are opting to rent than ever before. Pair with that a higher cost of living in cities, and the reason behind a major increase in co-living at multifamily communities becomes clear.

Because of this rise, there are more cars per household than the associated spaces were originally built to support. Developers often base parking ratios on assumed occupancy, so more co-living situations means that space is increasingly limited. 

All of these factors have put a strain on parking. 

Even as rent growth slows, many residents continue to rely on roommates to afford housing. The result is often overcrowded parking lots, with spaces poorly allocated to match the increased number of vehicles per household.

Outdated management strategies

While there have been many recent advancements in proptech, giving property managers and owners more tools than ever to modernize their operations, parking is one area that has been slow to evolve.

Assigned parking complexities

When it comes to assigned parking, most buildings’ parking systems are highly manual, relying on spreadsheets or even laminated papers to keep track of who’s parking where. This not only takes up a lot of staff time, but also results in poor utilization of already-cramped parking and complicated (or impossible) guest parking.

With these outdated strategies, vacant reserved spaces may go unused while other residents struggle to find parking. Without an accurate system of record, it’s impossible to know at any moment which spots are available, so teams are unable to utilize spaces efficiently.

Unassigned parking nightmares

Given the complexities of assigned parking, teams often opt to let parking go unassigned. This strategy, however, has its own set of problems. 

Because spots are available to everyone 24/7, there are no limitations on how long a resident can leave their car parked. Even if there are rules, it’s often infeasible for a staff member to walk the lot in order to enforce these rules. As a result, unassigned parking can often lead to a parking shortage in urban areas, leaving residents frustrated and without a guarantee of finding a spot when they arrive home. 

Additionally, in dense urban areas, this “free for all” approach often involves a much higher incidence of unauthorized parking, especially if there’s no parking gate.

Emerging environmental trends

Policies to reduce parking minimums align with efforts to cut emissions and promote eco-friendly transportation options like biking and public transit. In some areas, parking spaces are even being converted into green spaces. In particular, the rise in electric vehicle (EV) ownership further complicates the parking at multifamily communities. 

By 2030, EV sales are projected to reach $45 million, growing to 65 million by 2035. 

A survey by the NMHC revealed that 83% of EV owners prefer to charge at home, but many multifamily dwellings lack adequate charging infrastructure. Properties need to meet this demand by installing charging stations, which often means reconfiguring existing parking spaces and removing non-EV spots. 

Additionally, on top of the growing competition among EV owners to get access to a charger, you also run the risk of non-EV drivers taking empty EV spots if there’s an overall parking shortage. All of this has left many property managers and owners scrambling to try to balance EV demand with an already strained parking situation. 

So what's the solution?

It’s possible for parking to still run smoothly despite the changes that are underway, but only if there are proper strategies and systems in place to manage it. 

The good thing is that when you implement the right parking management system, the impact from all of the other key paint points will “magically” become less relevant. 

An effective parking management solution should deliver on all of the following capabilities to help overcome many of the timely issues we mentioned above: 

• Access integration: Consider how the system will allow access if you have a parking gate, and if possible, avoid clicker-based entry that can be expensive and time consuming to manage. 
• Automated processes: Look for features that reduce manual tasks, freeing staff to focus on more strategic responsibilities.
• Ease of use: The best solution offers a user-friendly app and/or web-based interface where residents and guests can handle reservations, payments, and access control.
• Automated enforcement: Solutions that deliver the most efficiency will also give residents the ability to report unauthorized parking right in the app and give them in-the-moment resolution by redirecting them to another spot if theirs is taken. 
• Real-time monitoring and allocation: Ensure the system can track spot availability accurately to optimize utilization.
• Flexible resident options: The ability to accommodate both assigned and unassigned parking models helps tailor solutions to different property needs.

Curious to see if parking management software is a fit for your community? Reach out today to learn more.

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