Law 177 of 2024 introduced progressive sanctions for delays in paid parking areas. The reform, introduced by Law No. 177 of 2024, surpassed the previous system that provided a fixed 15-minute tolerance for those who had purchased at least one hour of parking. The legislator's goal was to distinguish more sharply between those who forget to renew the ticket for a few minutes and those, instead, occupying the stall well beyond the purchased time.

The sanctions thus become progressive and proportional to the extent of the overstay. For more minor delays, a tolerance threshold equal to 10% of the purchased parking time is provided. In practice, those who pay for an hour of parking have additional six minutes without risking any contestation, while for a stay of thirty minutes the margin reduces to three minutes.

Within these limits, no fine is provided. If, however, the exceeding of the paid time is included between 10% and 50% of the purchased time, an administrative sanction reduced by 50% is triggered, to which the recovery of the due tariff for the exceeded period is added. The full sanction enters into play when the delay exceeds 50% of the paid time.

For example, those who purchase two hours of parking and are checked more than an hour after the ticket's expiration fall into the more severe category, with the application of the ordinary fine provided for by the Road Code and the recovery of the unpaid tariff. The discipline remains unchanged for those who do not pay the parking fee altogether. In this case, no tolerance applies: the driver is subject to the fine provided for by Article 7 of the Road Code, which ranges from 42 to 173 euros, in addition to the payment of the entire due tariff.

The 30% discount continues to apply to those who pay the fine within five days from the contestation or from the notification of the verbal. The new discipline concerns exclusively the exceeding of the paid time in parking areas. All other violations, such as parking in prohibited zones, in stalls reserved for disabled persons, in loading and unloading areas, are excluded.

The reform therefore does not extend to all parking areas, but only to those paid. The concrete consequences for businesses and consumers are significant: the costs of managing paid parking areas increase due to the recovery of unpaid tariffs, while the costs for drivers vary depending on the severity of the delay. The data indicate that 50% of delays are resolved within the tolerance threshold, while the 50% following it involves administrative sanctions or fines.