Buying together: what the law assumes
Couples, friends and families often buy property in Georgia together. The Public Registry can record two or more owners of one flat, and the Civil Code has a full set of rules for what happens between them: who decides, who pays, what each may sell and how the shared ownership can end. Those rules apply automatically unless the owners agree something else, and several of them surprise buyers. Shares are equal unless stated otherwise. Any owner can demand to end the co-ownership at any time. And between spouses, a flat bought during the marriage is joint property whatever the registry says, unless a marriage contract provides otherwise.
This page explains the default rules, the differences between couples, friends and family, and the agreement worth signing before you buy.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm how the Public Registry records shares when buyers state them in the contract, and how Georgian matrimonial property rules apply to foreign spouses married abroad.
The default rules for co-owners
| Question | Default rule |
|---|---|
| Size of each share | Equal, unless otherwise specified (Art. 954) |
| Rent and other income | Shared in proportion to the shares (Art. 955) |
| Using the flat | Each owner may use it without impairing the use by the others (Art. 955) |
| Decisions on running it | By majority, counted by the size of shares; no owner's right of use can be cut without consent (Art. 957) |
| Urgent repairs | Any owner may take necessary maintenance measures alone (Art. 956) |
| Costs | Each owner pays in proportion to the share (Art. 960) |
| Selling a share | Each owner may dispose of their own share; the others have a pre-emptive right to buy it (Art. 959, 173) |
| Ending co-ownership | Any owner may demand it at any time; if the flat cannot be divided, it is sold and the proceeds split (Art. 961, 963, 964) |
Two of these rules deserve attention before signing. Equal shares are the starting point even if one buyer paid most of the price, so a buyer who contributed more should make sure the contract and registration show the real shares. And the right to demand an end to co-ownership cannot be waived permanently: owners may agree to exclude it for a period, but even then it can be demanded for a valid reason, and an agreement that goes further is void.
How the registry records co-owners
The extract from the Public Registry names the owner or owners of the property and the form of ownership. When several people buy together, the contract should name each buyer and, if they are not equal, the size of each share, so that the registration reflects the deal. Read the extract after registration and check that every name and every share is there; a correction of a registry error is free, but only if someone asks for it.
Selling the whole flat
Each co-owner may dispose of their own share, but the flat itself is administered jointly. In practice, selling or mortgaging the whole flat needs every owner to sign, in person or through a power of attorney. A co-owner who lives abroad should therefore leave a power of attorney with someone they trust, limited to the sale they have agreed to, so that the others are not stuck waiting for a signature.
Married couples
Between spouses, the Civil Code adds its own layer. Property acquired during the marriage is the spouses' joint property unless a marriage contract says otherwise, even if one of them had no income of their own. Property each owned before the marriage, and anything inherited or received as a gift, remains separate. A separate flat can become joint if its value rose significantly through spending during the marriage, for example on a major renovation. Either spouse may ask for the joint property to be divided, during the marriage or after it ends, and the shares are equal unless the spouses agree otherwise; a court may depart from equal shares in the interests of minor children. After a divorce, claims to divide the property must be brought within three years.
For a residence permit, the spouse who holds the registered right applies as the owner and the other as a family member; our page on two or more properties discusses how shares affect the permit.
Buying together from abroad
When co-buyers live in different countries, the paperwork multiplies. Each buyer signs the contract, in person or through a power of attorney certified and apostilled in their own country. Each passport and power of attorney needs a certified Georgian translation. The bank account used to pay the price should show money coming from the buyers in line with their shares, which helps later if anyone asks who paid what. Plan the signatures before the reservation, not after, so that a missing document does not hold up the purchase.
Unmarried couples and friends
Unmarried partners and friends are simply co-owners under the general rules. There is no matrimonial regime to fall back on, so the registry entry and any written agreement are all there is. That makes an agreement between them more important, not less: who paid what, who lives in the flat, who pays the bills, what happens if one wants to sell, and how a departing owner is bought out.
Parents, children and siblings
Families buy together for several reasons: a parent helping a child, siblings pooling money, or a property meant to stay in the family. Two points help. First, a gift from a parent to a child, or an inheritance between close relatives, is exempt from income tax under Article 82 of the Tax Code, so transferring a share within the family later is usually simpler than it looks. Second, the death of an owner does not end the co-ownership: the heirs step into the share, and an agreement to keep the property undivided for a period ends on a death unless it says otherwise.
When one owner wants out
Talk first
Most exits are agreed: one owner buys the other out at an agreed value.
Get a valuation
An independent valuation stops arguments about the price.
Offer the share to the others
If the leaving owner wants to sell to someone else, the other owners have a right to buy first.
If there is no agreement
Any owner may demand an end to co-ownership. A flat that cannot be divided into equivalent parts is sold and the proceeds shared by share.
When one owner has debts
Co-ownership ties the owners together financially as well. Costs are shared by share, and if one owner does not pay, the others may later claim it from that owner's part when the co-ownership ends. Between spouses, a debt of one spouse can be recovered from their own property and from their share of the joint property, and from joint property itself if the money was used for the whole family. Ask about any co-buyer's debts before you buy together.
The co-ownership agreement worth signing
Under Article 958, rules the owners agree on for running the property also bind those who later take an owner's place, which is one more reason to write them down.
Risks and exceptions
- Unequal payments, equal shares. Without a stated split, the law presumes equal shares.
- Relying on a lifelong "no sale" promise. The right to demand an end to co-ownership cannot be waived for good.
- Foreign spouses and Georgian matrimonial rules. Ask how your marriage is treated before you register.
- A co-owner abroad without a power of attorney. A sale of the whole flat waits for every signature.
- Not checking the extract after registration. A missing name or share is easier to fix at once than years later.
- No agreement among friends. The general rules may not match what you intended.
Frequently asked questions
Can two foreigners own one flat together?
Yes. Foreigners buy residential property on the same terms as citizens, and the registry can record several owners.
Are shares always equal?
Only if nothing else is specified. State the shares in the contract and the registration.
Can my co-owner sell their share without me?
They can sell their own share, but you have a pre-emptive right to buy it first.
Can a co-owner force a sale?
Any co-owner may demand an end to co-ownership; if the flat cannot be divided, it is sold and the proceeds split.
Can we change our shares later?
Yes, by an agreement between the owners registered in the Public Registry, with any tax effect checked first.
Do all owners have to sign a sale?
To sell the whole flat, yes, in person or through a power of attorney. Each owner can sell only their own share alone.
Is a flat bought by my spouse alone still joint?
If bought during the marriage, it is joint property unless a marriage contract says otherwise.
Sources
- Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 173, 953-968 and 1158-1172), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia (Article 82), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Article 15), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from Civil Code Articles 173, 953-968 and 1158-1172 and Tax Code Article 82; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.