Amsterdam residents who apply for a new parking permit that does not take effect on the first day of the month may no longer have to pay for the full first month in the future. Alderman Reinier van Dantzig said this this afternoon during the municipal council meeting.
Denk councilor Süleyman Koyuncu asked Van Dantzig for clarification about the message that, according to the judge, a motorist’s parking permit does not apply retroactively. The motorist paid on July 23 and his permit did not take effect until then, but the amount was for the entire month of July. The motorist hoped that this would cancel the parking fines he received earlier that month, but he was proven wrong.
“That’s a bit strange, because if you have a parking permit, you wouldn’t get fines, you would say,” Koyuncu said. Van Dantzig, like the judge, thought differently. “The agreement is that you pay for the entire current month. That is the standing policy. You can also choose to have the parking permit take effect on the first of the following month. But until then you have to pay per hour. Park at the meter or somewhere where there is no paid parking.”
However, a change is probably coming, the councilor said. “We are investigating whether we can adjust the permit procedure in such a way that you only pay for the remaining days of the month.” His fellow councilor Melanie van der Horst will return to this later in a letter.
Koyuncu responded with satisfaction. “I see that the council is making a move to look at these types of cases, so I’m happy about that, thank you.”
