Resident parking also cheap in Saxony

According to Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), the charges for residents' parking are too low in many German cities. According to an analysis by DUH, prices are also often low in Saxony's major cities, even though local authorities have been able to charge more since 2022.

In Dresden, residents only pay 50 euros for two years, 30 euros for one year or 20 euros for six months. In Chemnitz, 30 euros are due annually. In Leipzig and Plauen, the fees are 30.70 euros, which is the former nationwide upper limit. According to the evaluation, the fee in Saxony is only higher in Zwickau. There, 90 euros per year are due for a resident parking permit this year, from 2026 it will be 120 euros.

For the study, DUH surveyed a total of 107 cities - including all major German cities and the five largest cities in each federal state. According to the study, 66 municipalities charge less than 31 euros per year, including the cities of Berlin (10.20 euros per year) and Munich (30 euros per year).

Cap on charges already overturned in 2020

A decisive realignment of resident parking took place in 2020. The Bundestag and Bundesrat overturned a nationwide cap of 30.70 euros per year that had been in place until then. Since then, the federal states have been able to authorize local authorities to set the fees for residents' parking permits themselves. Saxony did this in 2022.

In Dresden, the city council is expected to vote on a fee increase in March. If approved, the fee would be 72 euros for six months, 120 euros for one year and 216 euros for two years.

DUH: "Space is becoming increasingly scarce"

The environmental organization Umwelthilfe is calling for a general end to the cap on the cost of residents' parking permits and a minimum fee of 360 euros per year. "Space in our cities is becoming increasingly scarce because there are more and more and ever larger cars in Germany," said DUH Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch. "Higher parking fees are a necessary step for the mobility transition and for a fairer distribution of our public space."

The DUH cites the North Rhine-Westphalian cities of Münster and Bonn, which charge 260 euros and 360 euros per year respectively for the issue of a resident parking permit, as role models. In the Swedish capital Stockholm, up to 1,309 euros per year are even due.