Q&A: Saving a Parking Spot
Saving a Parking Spot
Question
Hello Rabbi,
On our street there’s a shortage of parking, and sometimes spouses or children stand in an empty parking spot and “save it” for their family’s car that will arrive shortly, something like 5–15 minutes. Is there any halakhic problem with this?
Full disclosure: since I have no influence over the others, and my wife and I do this too, I’d be happy to discover that the answer is that it’s permitted.
Answer
I don’t think there’s a clear halakhic answer here. It likely depends on local custom, and if that is the local practice, then it seems there is no basis to forbid it. Morally as well, I don’t see a problem with it.
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, no. First, like extinguishing a firebrand in a granary, this is indirect causation. Second, there is no service here that the municipality provides without receiving payment. This is a kind of tax imposed on whoever parks. If no one is parked there, there is no tax liability. Therefore, in my opinion, someone who parks and does not pay is not a thief; rather, he violates the law of the kingdom or community ordinances. Parking arrangements are governed by accepted custom and norms, and after that, whoever parks has to pay.
Perhaps taking hold of a parking space for a family member involves the rule of seizing something in a way that disadvantages others?
Best regards, Sh.Tz.L.
The problem in the case of seizing on behalf of a creditor is that others have rights to the money being seized, since the borrower owes them money. Here, by contrast, there is no vested right; rather, if the spot is free, one may park there. This is somewhat like lifting up a found item for another person, where that other person acquires it.
Moreover, according to some of the medieval authorities (Rishonim), when the one who seizes is acting as an agent, he can indeed seize even when it disadvantages others.
Don’t you think there’s a problem here regarding the payment owed to the municipality for the parking? You’re preventing the city from receiving payment for the time that a person is standing there and waiting. If you were paying from the moment you started saving the spot, the argument would fall away.