Building manager trying to scam me

[Mobeen Ansari]

I live in Toronto, Canada. I'm renting an apartment in a building. When I started renting, I didn't own a car. The day I got my car, I texted the building manager and he just gave me a parking spot number to park. That's it. I saw him several times throughout and he never informed me anything regarding a change in my rent due to the parking. Then suddenly he stopped me one day & asked me how come I haven't paid for parking all this time. And he told me that either I can pay $60/month for parking if he updates the lease or I can just deposite $50/month cash in the mailbox for building manager. AND he told me that I should pay him $500 cash for all the months I haven't paid for parking! I was speechless and the whole thing didn't feel right. It still doesn't. I went through my whole lease, and there's no mention of parking cost or of instructions regarding if a tenant gets parking after signing the lease. It's pretty obvious he is trying to pocket the money for himself and not giving to the company that owns the building. I'm willing to pay $60/month legally going fwd but I don't want to be bullied and scammed like that. I want to know my options by which I can address the situation and not risk losing this place. What should I do? Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for your time

[Mike McCarthy]

I wouldn’t pay anything cash - at least without a receipt signed by the manager. It sounds fishy.

I would also ask for him to point out in your lease where it says you should be paying for a space. ‘Maybe I missed it’.

I definitely wouldn’t pay retroactively if you’ve never been billed or asked to pay.

Moving forward, is agree to find out if everyone else is paying for a spot. If so, you’re probably going to have to cough up the money, or remove your car. But definitely not retroactively.