Exclusive: Olivia Stiles has been parking on the street outside her Melbourne home for seven years without a care.

Now council wants to charge her up to $250 for it.

This month, Stonnington City Council replaced its free residential parking permits with a new paid digital permit system.

Previously, the council provided two physical permits per household free of charge.

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Under the new system, which came into effect on January 1, residents must pay for a digital permit, starting at $60 annually.

A second permit costs $90 and a third costs $100, so a home needing three permits would spend $250 per year.

A visitor permit costs $120 annually, and a permit for one-off events like birthday parties cost $6.70 per vehicle.

Half-price concession pricing is available to eligible residents.

Like many Stonnington residents, Stiles didn't find out about the new system until it was already in effect.

"A lot of the community feel very much that they've been blindsided," she told 9news.com.au.

"As residents, we feel like we're kind of already paying through our [council] rates."

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