Philkotse PSA: There is such a thing as Minimum Parking Requirements

Ever dreaded parking in a particular slot because of how small it is? What if I told you that there is an actual government prescribed and mandated minimum size for parking slots in the Philippines?

Parking has become an important commodity in urban cities and is currently a problem in densely populated Manila as well as surrounding cities. It has come to a point where car owners are already parking their cars illegally outside their homes on public roads, leading the Metro Manila Development Authority (or MMDA) and local government traffic agencies to issue citations for zoning violations.

MMDA Doing Clearing operation for illegal parking

Penalties for illegal parking are quite stiff

According to Presidential Decree 1096, otherwise known as the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Building Code of the Philippines:

"The parking slot, parking area and loading/unloading space requirements listed hereafter are generally the minimum off-street cum on-site requirements for specific uses/occupancies for buildings/structures, i.e. all to be located outside of the road right-of-way (RROW)."

While most parking lots and establishments subscribe to the standard parking requirements of the Building Code, there are still some that walk the fine line between the mandatory and patently illegal. The Building Code is clear regarding the minimum size and the number of parking slots required before a structure is granted a building permit.

Mechanical elevated parking

Mechanized parking slots are innovative, but needs to still be up to code

>>> Check out:

1. Parking space requirements

The size of the average parking area is 2.5m x 5m for perpendicular or diagonal parking.
2.15m x 6m for parallel parking.
3.6m x 18.0m for Articulated Truck with 12.0 m container
3.0m x 9.0m for Jeepney
3.7m x 5.0m for Disabled
Truck or bus parking shall have a minimum of 3.6m x 12m.

Type of occupancy	Parking requirements
Low-income single-detached living unit with individual lots not more than 100m²	Pooled parking: 1 slot/10 unit
Multi-family living units regardless of no. of stories with an average living floor area of 50m²	1 slot/ 8 units
Multi-family living units regardless of no. of stories with an average living floor area of above 50m² to 100m²	1 slot/ 4 units
Multi-family living units regardless of no. of stories with an average living floor area of more than 100m²	1 slot/ unit
Hotels	1 slot/ 10 rooms
Apartelles	1 slot/ 5 units
Motels	1 slot/ units
Shopping centers	1 slot/ 100m²
Markets	1 slot/ 150m²
Restaurants, fast food outlets, bars, and watering holes	1 slot/ 30m² of customer area
Nightclubs, supper clubs, and theater-restaurants	1 slot/ 20m² of customer area
Office building	1 slot/ 125m² of gross floor area
Pension/ boarding/ lodging houses	1 slot/ 20 beds
Other buildings in business and commercial zones	1 slot/ 125m² of gross floor area
Public assembly buildings	1 slot/ 50m² of the spectator area
Places of worship and funerary parlors	1 slot/ 50m² of congregation area
Elementary schools, secondary schools, vocational and trade schools	1 slot/ 10 classrooms
College and universities	1 slot/ 5 classrooms
Hospitals	1 slot/ 25 beds
Bowling alleys	1 slot/ 4 alleys
Amusement centers	1 slot/ 50m² of gross floor area
Clubhouses, beach houses, etc.	1 slot/ 100m² of gross floor area
Factories, manufacturing, mercantile, warehouses, and storage bin	1 slot/ 1000m² of gross floor area
Tourist bus parking	2 bus slots/ hotel or theater restaurant
Churches and similar places for worship	1 car slot & 1 jeepney/shuttle slot for every 50sqm area

* Special provisions: 1 accessible parking lot for 50-150 slots and an additional slot for every 100 thereafter.

>>> Read more:

2. Loading slot requirements

Type of occupancy	Loading requirements
Stores, manufacturing, mercantile, wholesale and the like	1 loading slot for every 5000m² of gross floor area(minimum of 1 truck loading slot)
Hotels and hospitals	1 truck loading slot

Cars packed like sardines on a parking lot

Keep yourself informed of your rights

It's always best to be informed of your rights. Just because parking is becoming so expensive and scarce doesn’t mean you should end up being shortchanged. Do you have any parking horror stories we can share? Drop us a line below and follow Philkotse.com for more news, reviews, and insights on local Philippine motoring.

Roy Robles

Author

Sleek, Sexy, Athletic and Fast. These are words that were never used to describe our resident claustrophobe Roy Robles. After spending 10 years counting other people's cash in banks, he is just happy to be at Philkotse.com. Catch his articles everyday and make sure to honk if you see him.