What rights and duties does a landlord have in Georgia?
Georgia has no separate residential tenancy act. A landlord's position comes from the tenancy chapter of the Civil Code, Articles 531 to 575, read together with the procedure codes, the Law on Enforcement Proceedings, the Law on Notaries and a few administrative rules. The Code gives the landlord a claim to the rent, to the return of the flat and to damages, a lien over the tenant's belongings, and the right to end a tenancy on stated grounds. In return the landlord must hand over and keep the flat fit for use, answer for its defects and respect the tenant's possession, which the law protects even against the owner.
Our guide to renting out an apartment covers the lease itself: the deposit, the handover and the notice periods. This page looks at the landlord's legal tools around it: what a landlord may and may not do during the tenancy, who answers for damage, what happens when the flat is sold, and the three routes the law offers when a tenant stops paying or will not leave.
Rights and duties at a glance
| Topic | Landlord may | Landlord must |
|---|---|---|
| Condition of the flat | Require the tenant to report defects and do current repairs | Hand it over free of defects and keep it fit for use (Arts. 532-535) |
| Rent | Claim it, and the agreed extras (Art. 553) | Accept a reduction for defects (Art. 536) |
| Access | Carry out necessary works (Art. 540) | Give notice and avoid needless disturbance (Art. 540) |
| Security | Hold a lien over the tenant's things in the flat (Art. 568) | Keep a deposit within the legal limit (Art. 552) |
| End of the tenancy | Terminate on the grounds in Arts. 557, 558 and 562 | Do it in writing (Art. 563) |
| After the end | Claim the rent for each day of delay (Art. 567) | Use the courts, not self-help (Arts. 172, 575) |
Rent, increases and indexation
The rent and any extra charges are what the contract says; utilities and similar costs can be charged to the tenant only if that was agreed. The Civil Code contains no article allowing a landlord to raise the rent unilaterally during a lease. What it does contain is a termination ground: a tenant's refusal to pay an increased rent that matches market rates offered by the landlord is a valid reason to end a tenancy of a home, with the usual written notice. Outside that, the general rules apply: the parties are free to agree the content of their contract, and a party may ask to adapt a contract to an evident change of circumstances and may withdraw if adaptation fails.
The practical conclusion is that an increase during a fixed term needs either the tenant's agreement or a clause written into the lease from the start, such as a yearly indexation formula or a fixed step. Rent is income: our guide to rental income tax explains the 5% rate and the landlord register.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm whether a market-rent termination under Art. 562(2)(c) is available during a fixed term, and whether indexation clauses are enforceable as drafted.
Entering the flat
Once the tenant has the keys, the tenant is the lawful possessor and the landlord is not. The Civil Code allows the tenant to protect that possession against anyone, including the owner; the English translation on the official site says "lessor" in Article 575, but the Georgian original refers to the tenant. Entering a home against the will of the person living there can be a crime under Article 160 of the Criminal Code. The tenant must tolerate works needed to maintain the flat or the building, and the landlord must give notice where possible and avoid unnecessary disturbance, but the Code gives the landlord no general right of inspection.
If you want regular inspections, for example every six months with a day's notice, write them into the lease. Keep a spare key only for emergencies agreed in the contract, and do not use it to enter when the tenant has said no.
Defects and the landlord's liability
The landlord must hand over the flat free of legal and material defects. A defect that reduces its usefulness lowers the rent for as long as it lasts. The tenant may also claim damages if a defect existed when the contract was signed, arose from circumstances the landlord answers for, or was not repaired in time, and may fix the defect and recover the cost when the landlord delays. A clause limiting the landlord's liability does not help where the landlord knowingly concealed a defect. The landlord also reimburses necessary expenses the tenant incurs on the flat.
Damage to neighbours
Water leaking into the flat below is a typical neighbour claim in an apartment building. The Code's general rule is that whoever unlawfully and culpably causes damage must make it good. A more specific rule makes the person occupying the premises liable for damage caused by things thrown, falling or spilt out of a building, unless it was force majeure or the victim's fault, while the owner of a building answers for damage from its collapse or from parts breaking off because of poor maintenance or defects.
Between a tenant who left a tap running and an owner whose old pipe burst, the law does not draw a single line, and the answer depends on the cause. Write into the lease that the tenant must report leaks immediately, and check whether your insurance covers liability to neighbours while the flat is let.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm who answers to a flooded neighbour, the tenant or the owner, and how the owner recovers from the tenant, including the association's role for common pipes.
The landlord's lien on the tenant's belongings
To secure any claims arising from the tenancy, the landlord of a plot, house or flat has a pledge over the things the tenant has brought into the premises. The pledge lapses when the things are removed in the ordinary course of life, and where it applies it ranks ahead of every other pledge over the same items. The Code does not say how the lien is enforced, and a lien is not a licence to change the locks or hold the tenant's belongings yourself. The tenant has a counter-right too: where the tenant may withhold something or set off claims from the tenancy against the rent, a contract clause cannot take that away, provided the tenant gives notice in advance.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm how the Art. 568 lien is exercised in practice, through the court and enforcement or otherwise.
Selling or inheriting a let flat
A tenancy survives a change of owner. If the landlord transfers a flat that the tenant already occupies, the buyer steps into the landlord's position and takes over the rights and duties of the tenancy; two articles of the Civil Code say so, one for rented things generally and one for flats. Leases can also be registered in the Public Registry, but only where the ownership itself is registered, and a registered lease passes unchanged to a new owner. Registration is compulsory only for a lease longer than one year in which a company takes part, so a lease between two individuals need not be registered at all. The registry lists lease registration among the services that can be filed remotely.
For a seller, the tenancy is part of what is sold: show the buyer the lease, the deposit and the payment record. For a buyer, the question is the reverse: ask whether the flat is let and for how long before agreeing a date for vacant possession that may not be the seller's to give.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm the registry fee for registering a lease.
Utilities in the tenant's name
For electricity, the regulator's retail rules allow a tenant to become the customer with the owner's consent, or the contract can name a separate person responsible for paying. If the owner later asks to take the account back while a tenant is registered under a lease, the supplier must notify the tenant and give at least two working days to object, and an objection blocks the switch. A supplier may not move one customer's debt onto another without written consent. Putting the electricity account in the tenant's name therefore keeps the tenant's unpaid bills off the owner's account, but plan the switch back for the end of the lease.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm the equivalent rules for water and gas accounts.
The tenant's address registration
Foreigners who live in Georgia must register their address. Holders of residence permits register within one month of entry or of receiving the permit, free of charge, with either proof of ownership, the owner's consent, or written confirmation from two adult witnesses that they have lived there for the last three months. A landlord may therefore be asked for consent. Registration can be removed later: any adult can apply, with two witnesses, on the ground that the person has not lived at the address for six months, and a new owner can ask for it when registering the purchase. We found no rule requiring a private landlord to report a foreign tenant to the authorities.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm whether the 2025 amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens created any reporting duty for landlords who let to foreigners.
Choosing a tenant fairly
The Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination applies to private persons as well as to the State, in all spheres not regulated by other acts, and covers grounds such as nationality, citizenship, origin, race and religion. It does not name housing expressly. A person who believes they were refused for a prohibited reason can complain to the Public Defender or sue within one year, and once facts suggesting discrimination are shown, the burden moves to the other side to prove otherwise. Choose tenants on objective criteria, such as income, references and the date they can move in, and keep a short note of why you chose one applicant over another.
When a tenant will not leave: the three routes
| Route | What it achieves | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Court, then enforcement | A judgment ordering the tenant to vacate and pay, enforced by the National Bureau of Enforcement | The usual route; no special fast track for homes |
| Notarial writ of execution | Recovery of unpaid rent without a court, if the lease was notarised with a writ clause | Confirmed for money debts; use for eviction not confirmed |
| Police | Removal of an unlawful occupant during a criminal investigation of unlawful entry | An unregistered lease counts as proof of lawful possession, so a former tenant is hard to fit in |
The court. The landlord sues for the return of the flat and the rent owed, and may claim the agreed rent for every period the tenant stays on after the tenancy ends; a clause making the tenant pay more than the actual loss is void. If the tenant has let someone else in, the landlord may recover the flat from that person too. The court fee at first instance is 3% of the value of the claim, with a floor of GEL 100 and, for an individual, a ceiling of GEL 3,000, and half that before a magistrate judge, who hears property disputes up to GEL 5,000. The Civil Procedure Code's three-day summary procedure for returning leased assets applies to finance leasing, not to flats. A court may, on request, order immediate enforcement of a judgment recovering immovable property from unlawful possession.
Enforcement. The National Bureau of Enforcement, or a licensed private bailiff, serves a written warning giving the occupant 10 calendar days to leave voluntarily, with the date and time of forced eviction. The landlord must attend, and repeated absence ends the proceeding. If the occupant does not open the door, the bailiff may enter with the permission of the Bureau's chairperson, list the belongings and hand them to the landlord or a custodian; the costs of eviction and storage fall on the debtor. For an eviction the Bureau's fee, under the 2020 wording of the Justice Minister's order, is 1% of the flat's market value and at least GEL 100, paid in advance by the landlord and recoverable from the tenant.
The notary. If the lease was certified by a notary and the parties agreed to a writ of execution, with the notary explaining its consequences in the deed, the notary can issue a writ for a matured rent debt on the landlord's application. The notary does not ask for proof that the tenant failed to pay, the writ goes to the Bureau like a judgment, and an appeal does not suspend enforcement.
The police. The Police Law allows police to remove an unlawful occupant of a house or flat without a court decision where there is a reasonable belief that the crime of violating the inviolability of a dwelling is being committed. The procedure requires a criminal investigation to be under way, and a rental contract not registered in the Public Registry is listed among the documents proving lawful possession, which suspends the eviction if the occupant shows one.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm whether a notarial writ can order a tenant to vacate, whether the police route can ever apply to a tenant whose lease has ended, which value sets the court fee for an eviction claim, and whether the 1% eviction fee is still current.
What to do when a tenant stops paying
Remind, then demand in writing
Send the demand to the address for notices in the lease and keep proof of delivery.
Use the notarial writ if you have one
A notarised lease with a writ clause lets you go straight to enforcement for the rent.
Terminate when the ground exists
After three months of unpaid rent, end the tenancy early, in writing.
File the claim
For the flat and the rent, with the lease, the notices and the bank statements.
Enforce the judgment
Lodge it with the Bureau or a private bailiff and attend the eviction.
Check the flat and settle up
Compare the condition with the handover record and claim damage within six months of the flat's return.
Two time limits matter. Claims for rent and other periodic payments expire after three years, and the landlord's claims for deterioration of the flat must be brought within six months, counted from the day the flat is returned.
Risks and exceptions
- Self-help. Changing the locks or removing belongings may expose you to criminal liability.
- No increase clause. Without one, the rent is fixed for the term.
- No inspection clause. The law gives you no general right to enter.
- Missed deadlines. Damage claims expire six months after the flat is returned.
- Utilities left in your name. The tenant's unpaid bills then sit on your account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I raise the rent during the lease?
Only by agreement or under a clause in the lease; the Code gives no unilateral right.
Can I enter the flat to check on it?
Only with the tenant's consent or under an inspection clause; works need notice.
Can I evict a tenant without a court?
Not by yourself. The usual route is a court judgment enforced by the Bureau.
What does an eviction claim cost?
A court fee of 3% of the claim, between GEL 100 and GEL 3,000 for an individual, plus the enforcement fee.
Does a sale end the lease?
No, the buyer takes over the landlord's rights and duties.
Do I have to register the lease?
Only if it runs over one year and a company is a party.
Can the tenant put the electricity in their name?
Yes, with your consent, and you cannot take it back over the tenant's objection.
How long can I wait to claim unpaid rent?
Three years; claims for damage to the flat, six months from its return.
Sources
- Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 129, 172, 209, 319, 398, 531-575, 992, 1004), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Civil Procedure Code of Georgia (Articles 14, 39, 41, 268, 363-2), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Enforcement Proceedings (Articles 38, 84), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Justice Minister Order No 144 on enforcement fees, as amended in 2020, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Notaries (Articles 38, 40), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Police (Article 17), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Order No 75 of the Minister of Internal Affairs of 1 March 2016 on eviction, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Public Registry (Article 11), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Electricity Retail Market Rules, Resolution No 47, Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Justice Minister Order No 98 of 2011 on address registration, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Scope of notarial writs of execution expanded, Notary Chamber of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
Change log
- - Guide published from the Civil Code (Arts. 531-575), the Civil Procedure Code, the laws on enforcement, notaries, police and the Public Registry, and the electricity retail rules.