Private parking in Switzerland: do you really have to pay that CHF 60 notice?
You park for a few minutes on a private parking space outside a shop, gym, medical centre or apartment building.
Perhaps it is outside a large electronics store in Crissier or a fitness centre with customer parking.
When you come back, there is a notice under your windscreen demanding CHF 60 or CHF 80.
Can a private company really fine you?
Not exactly — but ignoring it is not always a good idea either.
Is it really a fine?
A private landowner or parking company cannot simply issue a police fine.
What you may receive instead is a private claim, often called an “indemnité de dérangement”, essentially compensation for the reasonable administrative costs caused by your unauthorised parking.
This can include taking photographs, identifying the vehicle owner, sending correspondence and following up payment.
So the fact that the notice comes from a private company does not automatically mean you can throw it away.
“But I was a customer”
This is where many disputes begin.
You may genuinely have been buying something in the shop or training at the gym and still have breached the parking conditions because you:
forgot to display a parking disc;
stayed longer than permitted;
parked in the wrong area; or
failed to register your number plate.
There is another twist which is particularly relevant in large commercial areas around Crissier.
The shop itself may only be a tenant. The car park may belong to the property owner or be managed separately, with enforcement outsourced to a private parking company.
Depending on the contractual arrangement, that company may receive all or part of the amounts collected from parking notices. There can therefore be a very real commercial incentive to enforce the parking rules strictly.
This can lead to the slightly absurd situation where you were genuinely shopping in the store, the store believes you, but the parking notice was issued by a company over which the store has little or no direct control.
So “but I was actually a customer” is certainly worth raising — particularly with the shop — but it does not automatically make the notice disappear.
What about a “mise à ban”?
Private parking areas sometimes display a sign referring to a mise à ban.
This is more serious.
A landowner can obtain a judicial prohibition against unauthorised parking. If you breach it, the owner can report the violation and an official fine may follow.
So on private parking there can be two different things:
a private demand for compensation, and potentially a real penal fine for breaching a judicial prohibition.
“But I was only there for five minutes”
Possibly.
Unfortunately, “I was only there for five minutes” is one of the great classics of parking law, alongside “I had my hazard lights on” and “I was just picking someone up”.
If the parking conditions required a disc, member status or registration, a short stay can still be unauthorised.
Should I just pay?
Often, if the restriction was clear and the amount is reasonable, yes.
Spending three hours challenging CHF 60 or CHF 80 may not be the best financial decision of the week.
But before paying, check:
whether the licence plate and location are correct;
whether the parking conditions are clearly displayed;
what the sign actually required;
whether you complied with those conditions;
whether the amount claimed is explained; and
whether the notice is genuine.
If you were genuinely a customer, it may also be worth contacting the business first. Some retailers can intervene with the parking operator — although, where the parking is controlled by the landlord or an external company, they may have less power than you expect.
The simple rule
On private parking, a notice under your windscreen is not necessarily a police fine.
But it may still represent a valid private claim — and if a judicial parking prohibition exists, ignoring the matter can become considerably more expensive.
So next time you park outside a shop in Crissier for “just five minutes”, the parking sign may deserve almost as much attention as the opening hours.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The applicable rules and consequences may vary depending on the circumstances of each case.