~8 minute read · written by Mehrdad, founder of Mekavo

Space in Hong Kong is the most expensive thing there is, and an empty parking space is the purest possible waste of it. You are at work all day. The space sits there. Someone two streets away would pay real money to use it between nine and six.

So the idea is obvious, and in most cities it would be simple. In Hong Kong it is not — and the reason has nothing to do with parking law.

This article is the honest version: the one question you must answer before anything else, and what to do if the answer is no.

Start here: you may not be allowed to, and it is written in your own deeds

Almost every parking space in Hong Kong sits inside a development governed by a Deed of Mutual Covenant. The Lands Department describes it plainly:

"A Deed of Mutual Covenant and Management Agreement ("DMC") sets out and regulates the rights and obligations between co-owners and between co-owners and the manager. It also provides for the management of the development."

Sitting above that is the land lease — the Government lease under which the site was granted, which can carry its own conditions about what the car park is for.

🩸 And here is the sentence that stops a lot of good ideas, from a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing to the Legislative Council on 21 January 2015:

"some of the carparks cannot be let to non-resident users because of the restrictions in land leases or deeds of mutual covenants"

Read it carefully. It does not say charging is unlawful. It says that in some developments, letting the space to someone who does not live there is simply not permitted — because of documents you already own a copy of.

That is why the first step in Hong Kong is not pricing, not signage and not software. It is reading two documents.

What "non-resident" actually means for you

This is the distinction that catches people out. Letting your space to a neighbour in the same building is one thing. Opening it to the public — a commuter, a visitor, anyone with a phone — is a different thing entirely, and it is exactly the case those restrictions are aimed at.

So if your building's DMC restricts car parking to residents and their bona fide visitors, a public QR sign at the entrance is not a small liberty. It is the thing the clause was written to prevent.

Where the DMC comes from, and why it is not negotiable at your level

A DMC is not house rules invented by the management office. It is approved before the development is sold. The Lands Department's Legal Advisory and Conveyancing Office checks that a DMC does not contravene the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) and complies with the DMC Guidelines.

Which means two things for you. First, your management office cannot simply wave the restriction away over the counter. Second, the restriction is unlikely to be a mistake — it was reviewed.

There is a route where the answer is no. The same Government reply notes that, for its own car parks, the Housing Authority "will seek permissions and waivers from the Town Planning Board and the Lands Department for letting parking spaces to non-resident users". A waiver process exists. It is not quick, and it is not something an individual owner does casually — but the door is not painted on.

If the answer is yes — what actually works

Suppose you read both documents, or your solicitor does, and there is no restriction. Or you own a yard, a forecourt or a ground-floor lot that is not tied up in a residential DMC at all. Then the rest is straightforward, and Hong Kong is one of the easiest places in the world to do it.

You do not need a barrier, a booth or an attendant. Charging for use of your own space is a contract between you and the driver. What you need is a clear price, a way to take payment in seconds, and a record of who was there and when.

And a Hong Kong-specific note that matters more here than almost anywhere: your building will judge you on the traffic, not on the money. A space that turns over quietly and pays is invisible. A space that produces arguments at the gate, blocked ramps and complaints to the management office will attract attention you do not want, whatever your DMC says.

What we do — and where we stop

We would rather say this plainly than let you find out later.

Mekavo handles the payment: the QR sign at the entrance, the driver paying by phone, the receipt, the payout to your bank through our regulated payment processor, and the dashboard showing what is happening at your space. We take 5% per session, out of your share and never added to the driver's price. No monthly fee, no equipment to buy.

What Mekavo does not do: we do not read your DMC, we do not obtain waivers, we do not apply to the Lands Department or the Town Planning Board on your behalf, and we cannot make a restricted car park lettable. That part is yours, and it comes first. If your deeds say no, no software changes that — and we would rather tell you now than take 5% of a problem.

Your tax position also stays yours. Rental income is income; speak to your accountant before the first payment, not after.

What it comes to — no promises

A conservative sketch for a single space let on weekdays while you are at work: eight hours available, used two thirds of the time, at HK$12 per hour.

  • ~5 paid hours a day × HK$12 = HK$60 per day
  • × 22 weekdays × 12 months ≈ ~HK$15,800 gross a year
  • Mekavo's 5% fee ≈ HK$790 a year
  • Card processing comes out of our 5%, not yours

Illustrative, not a forecast. A space in Central and a space in Yuen Long are not the same asset. The point is the order of magnitude: an asset you already pay for, doing nothing for eight hours a day.

Three things to do this week

  1. Find your DMC and read the car park clauses. This is the whole ball game. Look for any restriction on letting to non-residents or on commercial use. If you cannot find it, your solicitor or the management office can produce it.
  2. Check the land lease conditions for the development. The DMC is not the only document that can restrict use — the Government lease sits above it.
  3. Only then look at price. Check what the nearest commercial car park charges per hour. That is your benchmark, and slightly under it is almost always right.

And if Mekavo is not the right fit, the principle matters more than the brand: charge fairly, make paying easy, and never let a car park earn you a complaint that is worth more than the income.

Sources

This article cites only Hong Kong Government sources and legislation. We do not cite competitors or commercial sites.

Written by Mehrdad, founder of Mekavo. Mekavo Ltd is registered at Companies House (#16477044) in Leicester, UK. This article is general information and not legal or tax advice — speak to a solicitor about your own DMC and land lease before letting a space to the public.

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