Is it easy to live with a car in Tbilisi?
It depends on where you live. In the central districts and the older Soviet estates, streets and courtyards were laid out for far fewer cars than the city now has, and parking is the daily friction of owning one. Tbilisi City Hall counted 28,516 municipal parking spaces in 2025, 958 fewer than in 2021, while Georgia's vehicle register passed 1.96 million in August 2025. In the newer suburbs and in buildings with an underground car park, a car is far easier to keep, and often necessary.
For a buyer, parking is therefore a property question as much as a transport one. Whether a flat comes with a space, how that space is owned, and whether the street outside is in a paid zone all affect what the flat is worth to you and to future tenants. This page sets out the rules from the city's parking resolution and land use regulations, and what the listings show about prices.
How does street parking work?
Street parking in Tbilisi is governed by City Council Resolution 33-99, adopted in December 2016 and most recently amended in May 2026. It runs two systems side by side. Outside the hourly zones, a car needs a time-based parking permit for the whole city; inside the zones, an hourly fee applies on top.
| Fee | Period | Price |
|---|---|---|
| City-wide parking permit | 1 week / 6 months / 1 year | GEL 4 / 25 / 50 |
| Zonal parking, zone A | Per hour | GEL 1 |
| Zonal parking, zone B | Per hour | GEL 2 |
| Zonal parking, zone C | Per hour | GEL 3 |
| Zonal pass | 1 day / 1 week / 1 month | GEL 20 / 100 / 300 |
| Zonal pass, long term | 6 months / 1 year | GEL 500 / 800 |
A zonal pass also covers the city-wide permit for the same period, but the annual GEL 50 permit does not cover the zones. The first 15 minutes in a zonal space are free, up to 4 different zonal spaces in 24 hours. Payment is by the city's parking app, street machines or bank apps, using the plate number and the code of the zone or space; a wrong plate or code counts as not paying. Paid fees are not refundable except on a written request by the next working day. The paid hours and days of the zones are set by a separate decision of the city government, which we could not locate, so check the signs on your street.
Hourly zones were introduced on Kote Abkhazi Street in 2019 and spread to Saburtalo and Vake from 2020, including Vazha-Pshavela and Kazbegi avenues, and to streets around Baratashvili Street and Orbeliani Square in the old town. City Hall has called zonal expansion its main direction for parking policy, so a street outside the zones today may not stay that way.
Can residents park free near their home?
Yes, if they own property nearby. Under the parking rules, a person who owns real estate within 100 m of a zonal parking space, or within 250 m if the zonal space is in an underground car park, may park free in those spaces during paid hours with 2 vehicles registered in advance. The right is tied to each land plot or building owned, each co-owner has it, and it ends when ownership ends. When the Saburtalo zones opened in 2021, owners registered online with their ID and the property's cadastral code.
Two limits matter. The rule speaks of owners, so tenants do not appear to qualify, which affects how attractive a central flat is to people who rent rather than buy. And we could not confirm how the city applies "building" to owners of single flats in practice, so ask the parking operator before relying on the right when you buy. Fully electric cars with motors above 4 kW pay no parking fee at all, either city-wide or in the zones.
What are the fines for parking wrongly?
| Offence or charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Not paying for zonal parking | GEL 50 |
| Breaking a no-stopping or no-parking sign | GEL 50 |
| Parking on a pavement or pedestrian crossing | GEL 100 |
| Parking in a bus lane | GEL 100, contra-flow GEL 200 |
| Parking by a fire hydrant | GEL 200 |
| Towing to the impound lot | GEL 150 |
| Storage at the impound lot | GEL 20 a day |
| Wheel clamp | GEL 150 |
Unpaid zonal parking is recorded on camera and the fine is notified by SMS rather than a ticket on the windscreen. A fine not paid within the voluntary period gets a surcharge equal to double the fine, and enforcement follows 30 days later. Parking on bike lanes, at stops, in disabled bays without a badge and in EV charging bays without charging is also banned. Enforcement is real: City Hall collected GEL 10.2 million in parking fines in the first seven months of 2024 and GEL 7.6 million in the same period of 2025. From May 2026 the national fine reform brought parking fines in Batumi, Kutaisi and other large cities up to the Tbilisi level. If you think a fine is wrong, the notice tells you how to contest it; we did not find a single official page setting out the deadline.
How much parking must a new building have?
The city's land use rules, Resolution 14-39 of 2016 as amended in September 2024, set a minimum number of off-street spaces for new residential buildings. The minimum is calculated on floor area, not on the number of flats:
- Central, intermediate and planning-framework zones: 1 space for every 150 m² of K-2 floor area.
- Peripheral zone: 1 space for every 180 m² of K-2 floor area.
- Cultural heritage protection zones: no minimum at all.
- Offices, shops, hotels and restaurants: no minimum set in the table.
An illustration with our own arithmetic: a central building with 15,000 m² of K-2 floor area needs at least 100 spaces. If its flats average 70 m², it holds over 200 flats, so the legal minimum gives roughly one space for every two flats. The required spaces must sit inside the building's plot, and we found no option for a developer to pay a fee instead. Underground floors do not count towards the K-2 floor area, which gives developers a reason to put parking below ground; an above-ground car park more than 3 m floor to floor does count.
The rules also set the geometry. A standard bay is 2.5 m wide and 5.5 m long, with a 6 m aisle; clear height must be at least 2.15 m; and ramps may not exceed 16%, or 18% for a straight ramp inside a building. If you drive a large SUV, ask for the bay dimensions and the ramp gradient, not just the level number.
Buying a parking space: what it costs
Developers in Tbilisi usually sell underground bays separately from flats. Two current projects advertise bays "from USD 12,500" in Saburtalo and "from USD 18,000" in a Didube riverside complex, where bays are offered only to flat owners. On the resale market, ss.ge had 165 garage and parking listings for sale in Tbilisi on 22 October 2026; among the 125 units of 30 m² or less, asking prices ran from about USD 3,900 to USD 60,000, with a median of USD 14,000.
| Area | Listings | Range, USD | Median, USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vake | 18 | 10,800 to 25,000 | 19,500 |
| Saburtalo | 33 | 8,000 to 31,000 | 15,000 |
| Gldani | 8 | 7,000 to 25,000 | 15,250 |
| Didi Dighomi | 9 | 6,000 to 25,500 | 13,000 |
| Isani | 5 | 8,500 to 18,000 | 11,000 |
| Didube | 7 | 4,800 to 21,000 | 10,500 |
| Nadzaladevi | 4 | 6,000 to 10,500 | 8,985 |
These are asking prices and small samples, and the category mixes underground bays with classic garage boxes, so read them as a range rather than a valuation. The old centre has almost no supply: we found no single-bay listings for sale in Sololaki or Old Tbilisi, only 2 in Mtatsminda and a handful of mixed listings in Vera. We found no study of how much a space adds to the price of a flat in Tbilisi.
Renting a space instead
Renting a bay is a common alternative. On the same day, 58 listings for spaces of 30 m² or less asked between GEL 200 and GEL 1,300 a month, with a median of GEL 350. Typical asking rents were around GEL 300 in Saburtalo, GEL 290 in Didi Dighomi and GEL 500 in Vake. For comparison, a monthly zonal pass from the city costs GEL 300, but it gives you a right to look for a space, not a space of your own.
For an investor, a bay can be a small income asset. As an illustration only, a bay bought for USD 15,000, about GEL 39,000, and rented at GEL 300 a month would gross about 9% a year before tax, fees and empty months. If you plan to let a flat, check whether the bay is in the same lease or separate, since tenants with cars will ask.
How is a parking space owned?
Under the Civil Code, flats and non-residential premises in a building are separate objects of ownership that must be registered in the Public Registry, and the law on homeowners' associations treats a non-residential unit like any other individually owned unit, with a share of the common property attached. In new buildings, bays are commonly registered as separate units with their own cadastral code, and resale listings often quote it. That is the structure to look for, because it means the bay can be mortgaged, sold or let on its own.
Other arrangements exist in the market, such as a contractual right to use a space in a car park owned by the developer or a management company. We found no source describing how common they are, so check the registry extract: if the bay does not appear there as your property, find out exactly what you are buying and who can take it away. Ask also about the car park's monthly service charge for cleaning, lighting and security, which is set by the association or management company.
Courtyards, garages and barriers in older blocks
In Soviet-era estates, cars park in the courtyards between blocks. The courtyard is common property of all flat owners, and every building with more than two separately owned flats has a homeowners' association by law. Changing common property in a way that significantly affects its use requires a unanimous decision of the owners, which in our reading includes fencing off spaces or installing a barrier; we found no rule specific to barriers, and disputes end up in court. Our guide to the homeowners' association explains how votes work.
The metal garages that line many courtyards have no future under the land use rules. Building or reconstructing garages on the plot of an apartment building is banned, except underground or inside the building, and temporary garages may stand for no more than 3 years before the city can require their removal. In March 2026 City Hall began paying to demolish old and illegal courtyard garages where residents agree, starting with about 15 in Varketili. If a seller offers a courtyard garage with the flat, treat it as temporary.
Bringing or buying a car
Foreigners can buy a car in Georgia and register it in their own name at the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Importing an older car has become much more expensive: a planned ban on cars over 6 years old was dropped before it started, and since 2 April 2026 the excise is GEL 4.50 per cm³ of engine for such cars against GEL 1.50 for younger ones. For a 2-litre engine that means GEL 9,000 on a car over 6 years old, against GEL 3,000 on a younger one; right-hand-drive cars pay three times the rate, while hybrids up to 6 years old get a 60% reduction.
A foreign driving licence can be used for a limited period after entry, after which residents exchange it for a Georgian one; the exact rules depend on your country and stay, so check them with the Service Agency. Private cars need periodic technical inspection from 4 years of age, every 2 years until 8 and every year after that, according to a 2019 guide; check the current fee before you book.
Do you need a car at all?
In much of the city you may not. Metro, buses and minibuses share one ticketing system, and the city is investing in rail: in September 2026 City Hall signed a GEL 287.65 million contract for a 7.5 km tram line with 11 stops from Didi Dighomi to Didube metro, and 111 new metro cars are on order, the first new rolling stock in 34 years. Taxi apps are widely used, though Bolt raised its fares by 12% in September 2026. City Hall's tender for EV fast chargers had installed 130 of 198 planned units by November 2025.
The answer still varies by area. Our guide to living near the metro shows which districts work without a car, and the hillside suburbs such as Tskneti and Lisi, with few buses and plenty of private driveways, assume one.
Questions to ask before you buy
Is a bay included?
Or sold separately, and at what price?
How is it registered?
Look for its own cadastral code.
Will your car fit?
Bay size, ramp gradient and clear height.
What does the car park cost?
Monthly service charge and who sets it.
Can you charge an EV?
Wiring and who approves a charger.
Is the street zoned?
Hours, prices and resident rights.
For older blocks, who uses the courtyard?
Ask neighbours about disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a new-build flat in Tbilisi come with parking?
Usually not: developers tend to sell bays separately, often from about USD 12,500.
How much does a parking space cost to buy?
In October 2026 the median asking price for a single bay was USD 14,000, with district medians from about USD 9,000 to 19,500.
How much is street parking?
GEL 50 a year city-wide, plus GEL 1 to 3 an hour in the paid zones.
Can I park free near my flat?
Owners within 100 m of a zonal space can register 2 cars for free parking there.
What happens if I park on the pavement?
A GEL 100 fine, and the car can be towed for GEL 150 plus GEL 20 a day.
Is a parking space my own property?
Usually yes in new buildings, as a separate unit with its own cadastral code; check the registry extract.
Can I import an older car?
Yes, but cars over 6 years old pay GEL 4.50 per cm³ of engine in excise since April 2026.
Do electric cars pay for parking?
No, fully electric cars above 4 kW are exempt from parking fees.
Sources
- Resolution 33-99 on parking rules and fees in Tbilisi, Tbilisi City Council, 27 December 2016, consolidated text with the amendment of 18 May 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Resolution 14-39 on land use and development rules in Tbilisi, consolidated text of 18 September 2026, and amending Resolution 44-78 of 13 September 2024
- Law of Georgia on Homeowners' Associations, No 5277 of 2007, English consolidated text of 2018
- Law No 1477 amending the Tax Code, 1 April 2026, and Government replaces import ban with higher excise, GBC, 12 March 2026
- Parking spaces and parking fines in Tbilisi, Georgia Today, 12 September 2025
- What has changed in Tbilisi's parking system, FactCheck.ge, 30 May 2022
- Zonal parking in Tbilisi, JAMnews, 11 February 2021, and zonal parking in Saburtalo, Georgia Today, April 2021
- Georgia toughens traffic fines, First Channel, 1 May 2026
- City Hall to remove courtyard garages, Georgia Today, 11 March 2026
- Garages and parking for sale and for rent in Tbilisi, ss.ge (accessed 22 October 2026), and developer listings on realting.com (2026)
- Contract signed for the Didi Dighomi - Didube tram line and 111 new metro cars, Georgia Today, September 2026
- Bolt raises fares, Georgia Today, 18 September 2026, and EV fast chargers in Tbilisi, Georgia Today, 26 November 2025
- How to pass mandatory vehicle inspections in Georgia, JAMnews, 26 January 2019
Change log
- - Explainer published from Tbilisi City Council Resolutions 33-99 and 14-39, the Law on Homeowners' Associations, Law 1477 amending the Tax Code, Georgia Today, FactCheck.ge, JAMnews, First Channel, GBC and ss.ge and developer listings.