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DRIVING

How much should you pay per month to rent a parking space in Spain?

Owning a car can be expensive, not only do you have to pay for insurance, road tax, repairs and fuel, if you live in a city, you also typically have to pay for somewhere to keep it too.

Published: 14 August 2023 12:51 CEST
Updated: 20 August 2023 08:39 CEST
How much should you pay per month to rent a parking space in Spain?
How much does it cost to rent a parking space in Spain? Photo: Mitchell Griest / Unsplash

As 65 percent of people in Spain live in apartment buildings, most people do not automatically have their own garages or parking spaces. Even if an apartment has underground parking facilities, it’s not guaranteed that space will be included in the rental agreement or sale of the property.

More often than not, it won’t be and you’ll have to rent somewhere separately. Parking on the street is also not always possible without some type of permit or paying for parking there too.

READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: What are the rules for parking in Spain?

According to the latest data from the report on “Cumulative Variation of Garages in Spain in 2022”, published by Fotocasa Real Estate Index, the price of garages for rent in Spain has risen 2.9 percent compared with 2021 and 0.2 percent compared to 5 years ago. 

The average price per month for renting a parking space in Spain in 2022 was €72.90 per month. 

Of course, like everything from housing rent to eating out and public transport, the cost changes greatly depending on where you live in the country. 

READ ALSO: How long can you park your car in the street in Spain before risking a fine?

The top three most expensive regions to rent a parking space in the country are surprisingly not Madrid and Catalonia, home to Spain’s two biggest cities, but are in fact Cantabria, the Balearic Islands and the Basque Country. 

The three regions with the lowest cost for renting a parking space are Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and La Rioja. 

Average price per month of renting a parking space in each region in Spain 

Andalusia – €71

Aragón – €60

Asturias – €72

Balearic Islands – €86

Basque Country – €86

Canary Islands – €71

Cantabria – €89

Castilla y León – €57

Castilla-La Mancha – €56

Catalonia – €79

Extremadura – €59

Galicia – €58

La Rioja – €57

Madrid – €77

Murcia – €60

Navarra – €59

Valencia – €64

The regions in which prices for parking spaces have gotten more expensive compared with 2021 are Castilla-La Mancha which rose by 17.1 percent, Cantabria which increased by 5.7 percent and Madrid by 5.6 percent. 

On the other hand, the price of garages for rent has decreased the most in Extremadura by -4.8 percent, followed by Aragón at 3.5 percent and Galicia at – 3 percent, according to the Fotocasa study.

How much should you pay for parking in Spain’s biggest cities?

If you live in a big city, such as a regional capital, then the cost of parking is most likely to be above the average for your region. 

The most expensive cities to rent a space are San Sebastián at an average of €109 per month, Bilbao at €101 and Santander at €99. 

What are the average prices per month in cities popular with foreign residents?

Barcelona – €94
Madrid – €89
Valencia – €76
Málaga – €77
Alicante – €73

The cheapest cities to rent a garage are Alcorcón (Madrid), below the average at €49 per month, Burgos at €53 and in joint third place at €54 are Cáceres (Extremadura), Vic (Catalonia) and Ourense (Galicia). 

READ ALSO: Seven reasons why you should invest in parking spaces in Spain

How much does it cost to buy a parking space? 

If you’re in the position to buy a parking space and not just rent one, you may want to consider it as an investment. 

According to the latest data from Fotocasa for 2022, the average price in Spain for buying a garage or parking space is €11,619. 

Again, this rises considerably in the country’s biggest cities. In Madrid, the average price to buy a space is €33,544, while in Barcelona it costs €24,734.

Parking spaces have a way lower barrier to entry than buying property and if you don’t need the space for yourself, you can always rent it out to help supplement your income. 

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DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:28 CEST
EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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