I live in Dublin city centre in one of those flashy big apartment buildings. Sharing the apartment with two other lads to afford the rent, save some and buy a decent place soon. The apartment management charges €200 pm for the cars parking, and that’s same even for the motorcycles. I love riding motorcycles and have a decent, economical one for my occasional commutes. In the beginning I was somewhat ok with paying 200 extra every month but this is taking a real toll on my savings (as I am not on a fat payscale). I did some research online and found out that the new developments must have 4% of the parking space reserved for the motorcycle parking (source: https://www.dublincity.ie/dublin-city-development-plan-2016-2022/16-development-standards/1638-car-parking-standards/16386-motorcycle-parking). However there is no mention of the standard parking charges for motorcycles anywhere. Can I do anything about this or Should I just accept the reality or move out? I know moving out is an easier option but the only reason I’m renting in this area is because of the connectivity and the co-working space the apartment building provides which is helpful for me as I work remote.
Is it an allocated space or free for all? There have been RTB cases before that found allocated spaces were part of the dwelling and were therefore covered by the rent/rpz.
No parking included with the rental. We need to pay if a parking spot is needed.
If you’re taking up a full size spot that would fit a car, then unfortunately that’s the price. The landlord won’t give you a discount because your motorbike is smaller than a car when he could just charge full price for a car.
If the spot is a motorcycle spot and is only half the size of a car spot then yeah I’d probably be a bit pissed off. But unfortunately landlords are gonna do whatever landlords are gonna do.
Often it’s not even just the physical cost of the spot a huge part of parking charges is security and insurance, which is pooled between all the users the fact the spot is the size of a car spot or half that size is only one of a few major factors in the cost of providing the car park generally.
Where is the confusion?
Also have you actually looked at the cost of alternatives..€200 pm is not much money
Are you being charged this by an actual individual landlord or management company?
Each apartment should be allocated at least one space, you need to check this out. Is everybody else paying?
Public transport is about €80 a month on leap card, you sure its worth having a bike?
Whether an apartment is allocated at least one space is entirely based on the lease you couldn’t possibly assume that to be the case. As they said one of those “flashy big apartments” I’m presuming it’s a fairly new builds that are primarily rented out rather than owner occupied/rented.
Rent the parking space for a car for the same price and sub-let it to some fellow bikers 😃
I kind of love this option, haha :)
You are in a private apartment complex, and the parking including motorcycle parking is privately owned parking, not public. That distinction matters.
The Dublin City Development Plan requirement that you found (the 4% motorcycle spaces rule) is a planning requirement for developers, not a pricing regulation. It ensures that new developments do provide motorcycle spaces, but it does not regulate what they can charge for them.
Nothing in the public parking laws or bye‑laws sets prices for private parking. In fact, the Citizens Information guidance explicitly states:
• Private car parks are not regulated by the Government, and • Prices are determined by the car park owner who happens to be your building’s management company (who is also your landlord?).
Citizens Information websitehttps://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel-and-recreation/traffic-and-parking/parking-fines-and-vehicle-clamping/
I presume that it is part of your rental agreement and you signed up to it. So legally, they can charge €200/month for a motorcycle even if it feels absurd.
Agreed. But I don’t see a clause where they explicitly mention the parking fee for a motorcycle in my rental agreement. There is just the mention of parking fee for cars, to which I have signed to. When I raised this with the apartment management, they said the parking fee is same for all vehicle types. When i asked “isn’t this same as charging for a two bed apartment and a studio with the same rent?” They just deflected my question and repeated the same thing.
You are being pedantic on the phrasing. A motorbike parked in a car space takes up the parking space.
Well I don’t even park at a regular car space. I park it beside a pillar occupying as much space as a bicycle.
Then start parking in a parking space. You're paying for the use of one.
Parking fee is the same for all vehicle types eh?
Buy an 18 wheeler and park it in the bike spot. See what they say then about this policy.
What everybody needs to also remember is they would be perfectly entitled to ban OP’s parking there regardless of the vehicle type.
You can park a motorbike in Dublin airport for free but your scummy management charge you 200 euro a month. Fuck that. 50 a week?
Absolute nonsense.
What so everyone else pays, or the landlord has in some way paid for this space and they shouldn't charge for it?! Come on now.
Again people don’t understand the primary cost of car parks after the initial capital investment is surveillance, maintenance, insurance, and security and it doesn’t matter what type of vehicle you drive your practical cost to the owner is the same be it motorbike or car.
it may be 'the going rate' - but its also 'expensive'. don't internally normalise it and start thinking its 'acceptable' - because it isnt.
i wonder why its so expensive
oh
ah
yes, yes you can
there it is.
Is the cost of not-being-able-to-save-anything-for the future worth the benefit of the social and night life of living there?
Maybe it is - for a while. But are you at the start, in the middle, or at the end of that 'while'?
.... only you know the answer to that.
It's a hard pill to swallow - h.p. payments on a motorcycle are probably lower per month.
They can have 4% reserved but it doesn't say that parking has to be free from what I can read of your link.
I do think your letting agent is taking the piss with such a high price. Is it entirely build to let? I live in an apartment block and we have some owners who own their car space and rent them out cheaper than the management company do, if you're similar it could be an option to find someone else leasing their spot (though by your description it sounds like it's all build to rent)
You could try challenge them on the wording of car versus vehicle, other than that I don't know what else you can do other than move, give up the bike or keep paying.
This is a let only building. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have such options to get a sublet space from someone else.
Look around for somewhere else cheaper nearby. Or rent from someone who has a parking spot that they are not using.
if you don't want to pay for parking the bike, get rid of the bike.
Any other bikers there? You might consider going in together on a parking bay for two bikes, halve the cost?
I’m the only biker here unfortunately. And the parking gates are operated by the remote control which is exclusively provided per spot, so even if there are other bikers and I sublet this to them, they might need the remote control to open the parking gates.
Haha clever fuckers. If it's a cheap bike just park it outside.
2.400 a year. You're having a laugh
Although €200 is a big chunk gone from your salary, it doesn't sound like that much for parking in city centre? That's €6.60 a day! Is there cheaper alternatives? Forgive my ignorance if i'm way off!
they can park in the street for free but that comes with the risk of theft.
Yeah I figured that as well, so if they want some level of security in Dublin then they will have to pay for it! I believe that security is warranted at the moment too for motorbikes!
I don't drive so have no idea how much is reasonable but 200 per month sounds absolutely insane to me. That's a third of my rent.
Are there other people parking motorcycles in the car park? Could two or three bikes share the same car space and split the cost?
A car and a motorbike are both motor vehicles. If cars pay 200 a month, there’s no reason you shouldn’t. Unless the rules only apply when it suits you.
200 is becoming standard now across Dublin. Ours went from free to 50 to 75 and now they want 150 a month. Parking is separate to lease (in my case) and it's not covered by RPZ so letting companies/landlords using this as a lever to increase their revenues (fleece people).
Parking is expensive, especially basement so why would they not rentalise it?
Ours is 100, also in town. I rented a spot off two people beople before now, one for 100, the other for 80. 200 is steep for a bike. Like if I was OP I'd be looking at renting a spot from someone in a different building.
Wow. I pay €60 per month for a space my dad uses. Recently he wanted me to contact the landlord for something and I refused. I said he’s been getting €60 monthly for twenty years now and probably doesn’t think about it. If I hassle him about something he might raise the price. I think I was right after reading this.