If you own a parking space that you are renting out, you may be required to pay the congestion levy. This depends on how the parking space is used.
Letting others use your parking space
Non-exempt purposes
If the parking space is used for a non-exempt purpose, for example, the person using the parking space parks the car while at work in the CBD, you must register for and pay the congestion levy for the relevant levy year. This is the case whether you rent out the parking space directly or through an online home-based car parking listing website.
Exempt purposes
If the parking space is used exclusively for an exempt purpose, for example, you make the parking space available for a fee to someone living in the same building who uses the space for residential purposes, then you do not have to pay the congestion levy.
Combination of both
The congestion levy applies if the parking space is used for both exempt and non-exempt purposes. This means that if you use your parking space for residential purposes during weekends, but make it available for a fee to someone who uses the space while they are at work from Monday to Friday, the congestion levy still applies. However, you may qualify for a part-year concession depending on whether the parking space is in a private or public car park.
If a parking space is located in a private car park, a part-year concession is only available if it is used for an exempt purpose for more than 30 days in a calendar year. If it is located in a public car park, the part-year concession is available even if the parking space is used for an exempt purpose for only one day.
Passing on the levy
If the levy applies to the parking space that you are leasing out, the cost of the levy may be incorporated into the fee you charge so that it is ultimately passed on to the end-user of the parking space.
Sub-letting a parking space
If you rent a parking space and sub-let it for a non-exempt purpose, the owner of the parking space is liable to pay the congestion levy. The owner may, however, request compensation for the cost of the levy from you.
For example, if you are a tenant of a residential apartment or office space and you rent out the attached parking space to a CBD commuter, your landlord (as owner of the parking space) has to pay the congestion levy. However, your landlord may be entitled to ask for compensation for the cost of the levy. You may, in turn, incorporate the cost of the levy into the fee that you charge the end user of the parking space.
