A woman in China who bought 196 parking spaces in a Changsha housing complex when nobody wanted them is now charging double the original rent.
She has also listed some at up to 80% above their earlier price. A court has ruled the purchase legal.
The South China Morning Post reported that the dispute arose in a residential community in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. According to Hunan TV, the project was completed and put on sale in 2018.
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Buyers were wary at the time because the area lacked shops, schools and public transport, and flats and parking spaces alike found few takers.
A woman surnamed Wu, however, studied the local authorities' regional development plans and decided to invest. She bought all 196 spaces in a single deal for 14 million yuan, about Rs 20 crore.
They made up 40% of the project's parking inventory. The developer, which was in severe financial trouble, accepted the offer.
Wu's bet paid off. The neighbourhood developed quickly, homes sold out and demand for parking rose.
She fitted locks on her spaces to stop anyone using them without permission, and began renting some out at double the monthly rate the developer had originally set.
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Residents asked her to cut the rent to 300 yuan (about Rs 4,300) a month, but she refused. She also listed the spaces for sale at roughly US$15,000 (about Rs 14.52 lakh) each, with some priced up to 80% above their original value.
Many residents believed she should sell at the original rates.
The anger was sharpest among residents already struggling to find a space. A government official was sent to mediate, but the effort failed. An undisclosed number of residents then took Wu to court.
They argued that parking is an essential part of a residential community's infrastructure and should not be monopolised by one person seeking resale profits. They asked the court to cancel her contract with the developer.
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In February 2024, a local court in Changsha ruled in Wu's favour. It noted that every resident had been offered the chance to buy parking spaces when the developer first put them on the market, and had chosen not to.
Wu, by contrast, had arranged the funds and taken the market risk herself.
The court held that her bulk purchase was lawful. It also observed that no law restricts how many parking spaces one person may own.
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