A block of twenty flats in Rotterdam's Nesselande district has a gated car park alongside it: twenty spaces, one per apartment, access via the boom barrier with a resident card. On 1 December 2026, Rotterdam introduces paid street parking in Nesselande, the first of thirteen districts outside the ring road to follow in sequence. Residents without a permit will pay at the meter from that date. That is when a gated private car park becomes the most attractive free alternative within walking distance.
Revtek · 6 October 2026
Rotterdam announced in September 2026 that thirteen districts outside the ring road will get paid parking in sequence, with Nesselande as the starting point on 1 December. Rotterdam is not alone: Utrecht is rolling out paid zones into new residential areas, Rijswijk introduced charges in parts of Overvoorde and Spoorzicht from October 2026, and Amsterdam has been expanding steadily for years. Municipalities are turning to parking revenue to cover budget deficits, and the rollouts continue despite resident opposition in several neighbourhoods.
For residents in the affected areas, street parking will cost money unless they hold a resident permit. Those who cannot or do not want one will park elsewhere. Private car parks and gated residents' association spaces are next in line.
Residents' association managers in Amsterdam and central Rotterdam have been dealing with this for more than a decade. When street parking becomes expensive, drivers look for alternatives on private land. They slip through behind a resident as the barrier opens, or use a PIN code that has been shared widely enough to be common knowledge in the area. On busy days, spaces that belong to residents are taken by people who have no entitlement to them.
In neighbourhoods now getting their first paid zone, this starts fresh. A car park that was unattractive last month because the street was free becomes the cheapest available option after the changeover. The residents' association notices it almost immediately: unfamiliar vehicles queuing at the entrance looking for an opening.
The most direct response is a barrier that makes decisions based on the licence plate. You build a list of every plate entitled to access: the building's residents, regular service providers such as a caretaker or cleaning company, and any permit holders. An ANPR camera at the entrance reads each incoming plate and sends the decision to the barrier controller. A plate on the list opens the barrier. An unknown plate leaves it closed, with the option to contact the manager via the intercom.
You manage the list through a web dashboard. When a resident moves out, you remove the plate and access stops immediately. When a resident gets a new car, you add the new plate without issuing a new card or code. The system runs around the clock without anyone needing to be on site.
The camera does not have to be a separate installation. ANPR capability is built into outdoor cameras from Axis, Hikvision and Bosch that you already use for general security. If you have cameras at the entrance from one of those brands, they are likely already suitable for number plate recognition, which keeps the up-front cost modest. Our guide on choosing the right ANPR camera covers how to check compatibility.
Visitors are a separate category. You want to let them in, but you want the resident to take responsibility for them. This works through WhatsApp: a resident sends the visitor's plate number to the system along with a time slot, for example until 22:00 that evening. The system registers that plate as temporarily authorised, and the barrier opens on arrival.
The resident handles this independently, without contacting the manager or the association committee. The visitor does not need to operate a call panel or enter a code at the entrance. When the time slot expires, access lapses automatically. Frequent visitors can be added as permanent guests on the resident's account so they can pass through on subsequent visits as well.
For residents' associations that rent out spaces to non-residents, the same mechanism applies. Permit holders get their plate on the whitelist; renewals and cancellations are tracked through the dashboard. More on that model is in our article on renting out parking spaces to residents.
Cameras on a residents' association car park fall under the General Data Protection Regulation. Licence plates are personal data; every recording of them is a data processing activity. In practical terms this means you need a resolution from the general meeting, a camera protocol setting out what you film and how long you keep footage, and clearly visible information signs at the entrance. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) applies a guideline of a maximum four-week retention period for standard security footage, unless there is reason to keep specific recordings longer for an ongoing investigation.
This is not legal advice; consult a specialist or your residents' association manager for your specific situation. The full GDPR requirements for ANPR are covered in our article on ANPR and privacy law.
The one-off investment covers the ANPR camera and the connection to the barrier controller. A suitable outdoor camera from Axis, Hikvision or a comparable brand costs indicatively €400 to €900 per unit. If you already have compatible cameras at the entrance, the up-front costs are typically minimal.
The platform subscription at Revtek starts from €175 per month per location, covering whitelist management, barrier integration, visitor registration via WhatsApp and the manager dashboard. Details on what each package includes are on the pricing page.
Most residents' associations start with the step that delivers the most immediate result: closing the entrance to unknown plates. Visitor registration via WhatsApp and any subscription module are added afterwards, at the pace that suits the organisation. Book a call via the button below to discuss what fits your building.
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