An apartment block in Hanoi has applied very high parking fees for cars, sparking angry protests from drivers.

According to the Hanoi People’s Committee's Decision No. 69, motorbike parking at apartment blocks and shopping centres in Hanoi is VND5,000 (USD0.23) during the daytime and a maximum VND6,000 for evenings. The total fees for a day is VND10,000.

Parking lot at Thang Long Number one apartment block

However, the fees for a motorbikes parking at the Thang Long Number One apartment block in Cau Giay District is up to VND100,000 a day, 10 times higher than the regulated level. The management board of the block explained that this is the fine for motorbikes which do not belong to the block residents and are left at the block parking lots for more than eight hours.

Anyone who does not live in the block that wants to have their car kept has to pay up to VND200,000 between midnight to 6 am.

The VND200,000 fee is said to violate Hanoi People’s Committee’s Decision 69 which stipulates that the maxim fees for keeping a car at apartment blocks in Cau Giay District is VND90,000.

Many people, including the building residents support the fines, saying that this helps to prevent outside people who bring their vehicles there to be kept.

A woman nicknamed Bong Bin who lives in the block said coaches often stop to pick up passengers at the area in front of the block. These passengers leave their cars and motorbikes at the building parking lots, affecting the residents. Many households of the building have even had to spend up to VND800 million (USD38,000) to buy a space for their own cars.

But many others disagree with the charges, adding that the building management board should have another measure to deal with the problem, instead of charging such high fees.

Hanoi authorities should issue a special regulation on vehicle keeping fees for buildings which are facing the problem like Thang Long Number One, instead of letting them impose their own current high charges. This may set example for other apartment blocks to learn and they would impose higher parking charges.

Many people also complained that the car keeping fees at Kinh Do Tower in Lo Duc Street was also up to VND160,000 overnight, much higher than Hai Ba Trung District’s regulated level of VND70,000.

Not only at apartment buildings, vehicle keeping fees in many streets of the Hanoi Old Quarter are much higher than the regulated levels, particularly during Lunar Lunar New Year and other festivals.

The usual parking fee for motorbikes is VND5,000 to VND7,000 per day, and for cars VND15,000 to VND30,000. However, in practice, the fees have dramatically risen to VND50,000-VND70,000 per motorbike per day and to VND100,000-VND200,000 per car.