Reykjavík approves 90% discount on basement parking fees

Reykjavík City Council has approved a 90% discount on street construction charges for parking spaces in the basements of apartment buildings, mbl.is reported. The measure fulfils a campaign promise made by the Independence Party before the last municipal elections.

Under the proposal, shared garages for three or more vehicles will be charged 10% of the per-square-metre fee applied to the buildings they serve.

“We are reversing the huge increase in street construction charges for spaces in underground garages in apartment buildings that took place during the last term,” Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir told Morgunblaðið.

She said the change would create a financial incentive for developers to place parking spaces underground, allowing the city’s land to be used in other ways.

The proposal’s explanatory memorandum says the discount restores an arrangement that applied under an earlier regulation on street construction charges in Reykjavík. Shared garages support efficient land use, reduce the need for surface parking and can help advance the goal of creating a better city, it says.

“We promised in our platform to provide a 90% discount on street construction charges for basement parking spaces, and we are fulfilling that promise,” Björnsdóttir said.