Hire cars

Hiring a car in Europe: what the contract changes

Checked 1 October 2026 against each company's own published terms and the regulators · skynomad

Verdict

A hire car is your car for the fine, the toll and the zone, and the rental company's car for everything else.

The plate is theirs, so every notice reaches them first and comes to you with a fee on top. The deposit, the excess and the border rules sit in a contract you sign at a counter. Read those five things before you pick a car, not after.

Most advice about hiring a car is about price. This section is about what the contract lets the company charge afterwards, and which of those charges are written down. Every figure here is read from the rental company's own terms or a regulator, with the document and date named on the page. Where a company publishes no number, the page says so.

What to check before you book

  1. The fine and the fee on top. The authority fines you; the company adds its own administration charge. See who pays a fine on a hire car.
  2. The deposit. How much is held on the card, and what a bigger hold does to your credit limit: deposits and card holds.
  3. The excess. What you owe if the car is damaged, and what the company's cover does and does not include: excess and damage cover.
  4. The border. Taking the car abroad without asking can void the cover: crossing borders and one-way hires.
  5. The other charges. The fee list most companies keep in a separate guide: extra charges, with Europcar's tariff.

Pages in this section

Before you book

On the road

At the desk

Next on the road

Parking on the way

Where to leave the car, from our sister site. Each card is the short version; the full guide has every car park, the tow pound and the charging points.

ParkingInEurope

Florence

Renaissance on foot, car on the motorway. Seriously, that's the trick.

Best bet
Villa Costanza car park, built right on the A1 motorway: €7 for 24 hours, tram T1 to Santa Maria Novella in about 22 minutes. You never go near a ZTL camera.
Watch out
ZTL cameras fine every car, no grace period. Foreign plates can get the letter up to a year later, plus a rental-company fee.

Full parking guide for Florence Checked 16 September 2026

ParkingInEurope

Rome

All roads lead to Rome. Most of the last kilometres are on camera.

Best bet
Park and ride at a metro terminus: Anagnina (Metro A) or Laurentina (Metro B), €1.50 for 12 hours. No ZTL camera anywhere near you.
Watch out
ZTL cameras in the centre, Tridente and Trastevere, plus night ZTLs in Trastevere, San Lorenzo and Testaccio. Since July 2026 EVs pay too.

Full parking guide for Rome Checked 16 September 2026

ParkingInEurope

Milan

A camera on every road into the old ring and €7.50 a weekday to pass it. The metro-end car parks charge €1.50 for five hours and let the train do the rest.

Best bet
ATM interchange car parks: €1.50 up to five hours, €2 up to ten. Lampugnano has 1,830 spaces on metro M1, which runs straight to Duomo.
Watch out
Area C: Mon–Fri 07:30–19:30, €7.50, foreign plates too. Pay the same day; the €22.50 catch-up ticket covers seven days, then a €83–€332 fine arrives.

Full parking guide for Milan Checked 29 September 2026

ParkingInEurope

Paris

A city that charges by the hour, by the zone and by the kilo. Come on a Sunday.

Best bet
Sundays and public holidays: all street parking is free. On weekdays, a Saemes garage costs €39–45 for 24 hours; the Bois de Vincennes sells a €3 three-hour ticket Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri.
Watch out
Unpaid parking costs €75 (zone 1) or €50 (zone 2); €225 / €150 for heavy cars. Max 6 hours per spot. August is not free. Crit'Air sticker needed inside the A86.

Full parking guide for Paris Checked 16 September 2026

ParkingInEurope

Brussels

A street space in the centre throws you out after four and a half hours; a garage keeps you all day for €30. Register the plate for the LEZ first — free, and fined if you forget.

Best bet
Albertine-Square: €4 an hour, €30 a day, and €8 for the ten evening hours 19:00–05:00. It sits under the Mont des Arts, five minutes' walk from the Grand-Place.
Watch out
Every foreign plate must be registered for the LEZ, electric cars included: free, valid five years, before you enter or within five days. Unregistered is €150 even for a clean car.

Full parking guide for Brussels Checked 29 September 2026

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Sources

  1. Sixt UK — Terms and Conditions for the Rental of a Vehicle, 09/2026
  2. Hertz — Rental Terms, France edition, June 2026 (with the Electric Vehicle Terms)
  3. Europcar UK — Terms and Conditions of Hire and Tariff Guide, updated 5 January 2026
  4. Europcar — Deposit policy (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UK)
  5. Avis UK — Pre-authorisation
  6. UK Competition and Markets Authority — Short-term car rental in the European Union, 13 July 2015

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