POC requires property deed for resident parking permits in Centar municipality

Public Enterprise Parking Centre - Municipality of Centar (POC) has introduced a new rule requiring residents who apply for a resident parking permit to submit a property deed (imoten list) no older than six months, in addition to a valid ID and vehicle registration. The deed must be issued for a fee of 250 denars.

POC published the updated rules on August 4, saying the change ties the preferential resident parking right to a specific housing unit rather than only to the address listed on a person’s ID card issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

A resident of Centar reacted with frustration: "Why is an ID card not enough, does POC not trust the Ministry of Internal Affairs that issued a document with my place of residence? Why should I present a property deed to POC officials so they can see part of my property holdings? They raised prices for the second and third vehicle, and this creates additional obligations and costs for us," the resident said.

POC: deed identifies the housing unit and prevents duplicate permits

POC says the ID confirms a person's registered address but does not precisely identify which housing unit inside a building the application concerns, or how many user contracts have already been issued for that unit. "That is important because the number and the amount of fees for user contracts are determined according to whether it is the first, second or third vehicle within the same housing unit. The ID card is proof of registered residence, but by itself it does not enable a precise determination of which specific housing unit in the building the request refers to and how many user contracts have already been issued for it. The property deed is used to identify the housing unit and to correctly apply the new model," POC said.

POC also stressed that it does not request the deed to assess or judge a resident’s wealth, and that the applicant is not required to be the owner of the apartment. "The MIA through the ID confirms the declared residence of the person. POC, however, must establish which housing unit the preferential right to parking relates to, because the new model is set by housing unit and number of vehicles that use the privilege. For that reason, the property deed has a different function than the ID — one document confirms the person's residence, the other identifies the housing unit for which the user contracts are issued," the enterprise added.

Residents are also facing higher parking fees introduced by POC earlier this year. According to the revised price list, the monthly fee for a second vehicle for residents rose from 250 denars to 500 denars, and for a third vehicle from 1,200 denars to 1,500 denars. Residents parking outside their residential sector will be charged 500 denars per month. Daily commercial parking and prepaid daily cards in zones 1 and 2 have also increased: daily cards in zone 1 rose from 300 to 400 denars; prepaid daily from 800 to 1,000 denars in zone 1 and from 700 to 900 denars in zone 2. The monthly mobile business card for legal entities was raised from 2,000 to 2,500 denars.

Additional increases affect employees of business entities located in POC-managed public lots (from 2,000 to 3,000 denars), monthly cards for official vehicles in closed lots (now 4,000 denars, up by 1,000), and towing fees: the fine for removing an improperly parked car rose from 3,500 to 4,000 denars.

Civic groups in the Kapishtec neighborhood, organized under "For a Decent Kapishtec", have launched a petition protesting the higher fees, but POC has so far not reversed its decision.

Photo: СДК.МК)