Municipalities will increase the price for a parking permit by an average of 3.3 percent this year, according to a study by the Vereniging Eigen Huis (VEH) on Friday. According to the interest group, there are major outliers, such as a doubling of the rate in Oldenzaal in Overijssel and a sharp increase in Utrecht.
According to VEH, the average increase is considerably higher than expected inflation. The organization also points out that homeowners are also faced with a significant increase in municipal housing costs, including property taxes (OZB).
Utrecht is increasing the price of a parking permit for residents of the city center from EUR 354 to EUR 442, an increase of almost 25 percent. The municipality is working on making the city center car-free, but also wants to absorb financial setbacks with the increase, says VEH.
In Amsterdam, the rate will only increase by 1 percent, but in that city parking has been virtually unaffordable for years. At 567.48 euros, the rate for a permit is nine times higher than that in The Hague. The researchers found one municipality where the rate is actually going down: Katwijk.
According to VEH, the municipalities are turning their budget problems on to car and home owners. “Some municipalities are using all means to make up for shortages in the social domain,” says director advocacy Karsten Klein. He calls on national politicians to give municipalities more room to spend.
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