Parking locks and space savers for Dubai bays

The bay that is never yours when you get home

Parking lock enquiries almost always begin with the same story. A resident has a bay allocated in the tower car park or the shop has customer spaces in the front row, and every evening someone else is in it. Notes on the windscreen do nothing. A parking lock, sometimes sold as a parking space saver, solves this directly: a folding steel arm fixed to the floor that stands up when you leave and lies flat when you return.

This page covers how the lock works, what to choose, the consent you must secure first, how installation is done and how the unit holds up in Dubai conditions.

What is in the box

A parking lock has a base plate, a compact motor and gear unit, a control board, a folding steel arm and a receiver for the remote, phone or card. Better units add an obstacle sensor so the arm will not lower on top of something in its path, and a status light so you can see it is armed. The arm rests low when down, so you can drive over it. When raised, it is strong enough to stop a car from rolling into the bay in a normal parking manoeuvre, though it is a deterrent and not a crash barrier.

Choosing the power source

Battery units are the easiest to fit and the easiest to take with you when your tenancy ends. Mains units suit bays near a power point and avoid battery changes. Solar-assisted units suit open car parks with strong sun, though dust on the panel is a recurring issue in Dubai. The decision follows the bay: how near is power, how exposed is it, and how long will you stay.

Choosing the control method

• Handheld remote: simple and works without a phone. Keep a spare, because a lost remote means a locked bay.
• Bluetooth and phone app: convenient, and the phone becomes the key. Check what happens if the phone battery dies.
• Shared building system: in a managed building, the management may prefer a common system so the arms can be lowered by staff in an emergency.

Permission first, drilling second

This is the part people skip. In an apartment building the car park floor is common property, and a parking lock bolted into it needs the management's written consent. Some buildings also require the lock to be a specific type, to keep a uniform look, or to ensure staff can lower it if the car needs moving in an emergency. Tenants need the landlord's consent on top. In a villa community, a visitor bay or driveway lock may fall under the community's modification rules, so check them before ordering. Without consent you risk being asked to remove the unit, and the damage to the floor is yours to repair.

How we fit one

1. Confirm the bay position and the arm's reach, so the raised arm sits where a car would nose in.
2. Mark the base plate, and check the floor for waterproofing membranes, cables or post-tension tendons that must not be drilled.
3. Fix the base plate with anchors suitable for the slab, and seal the anchor points.
4. Install the power source: battery, mains or solar, with any required conduit.
5. Pair the remote or the app, test raise and lower, and confirm the obstacle sensor if fitted.
6. Show you the manual release and what to do if the battery runs flat.

What Dubai does to a parking lock

• Heat stresses batteries kept in an uncovered car park, and shortens their life.
• Dust settles in the hinge and under the arm, increasing drag and wear on the motor.
• Hosing and washing carries water and detergent into the base. Seal quality matters more than the steel.
• Humidity corrodes cheap fixings and terminals at coastal or basement sites.
• Vehicles running over a raised arm bend it, so teach all users and visitors the status light.

Is the lock failing?

A lock that rises slowly or not at all often has a weak battery or a remote that has lost its pairing. An arm that will not stay up, or lowers by itself, can be a failing control board or a loose arm hinge. A grinding sound points to grit. A lock that works for one person and not for another usually has a pairing or app permission problem rather than a hardware fault. If a car has driven over a raised arm, stop using it and have the arm and gearbox inspected, because bent parts fail under the next load.

What shapes the quote

The number of bays, power route, the type of control, the need for a common management system, the floor type and any protective sleeves. Because the groundwork differs so much between a basement car park and an open yard, the written quote follows a visit or a photo of the bay and its nearest power point. Product options are on the parking locks and space savers page; for entrance control instead of single bays, compare sliding barriers and boom barriers; see parking management systems for building-wide schemes. Residents in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers ask about this most, and our parking barrier and bollard guide adds context.

Send a photo of the bay through the photo page and the nearest power point if there is one.

Supply in Dubai

Mount Everest Automatic Doors supplies Parking Locks in Dubai, with a free site visit, installation and servicing by our own technicians. We also supply to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.