What do flats in Georgia actually earn from rent?
Far less evenly than advertisements suggest. The Revenue Service figures reported by Business Media Georgia show 28,300 people receiving rental income in July 2025 and about GEL 49 million a month declared across all lessors in the first seven months of 2025, or GEL 1,835 per lessor a month, a figure that mixes flats with shops and offices. For short-stay flats, AirROI's booking data for October 2025 to September 2026 show a median Tbilisi listing taking GEL 1,680 in a month it was active, while the top 10% took GEL 4,620 or more and the bottom quarter GEL 799 or less. In Batumi the same points were GEL 1,310, GEL 3,790 and GEL 575.
This page collects the figures that describe real income rather than promises: what landlords declare to the tax authority, how booking revenue is spread between good and weak listings, what the bank research on long lets actually measures, and the few individual cases on the public record. It also shows how we will add our own clients' results, only with their written consent. Averages for each city are in our guides to rental yields and Airbnb in Tbilisi.
How wide is the spread between flats?
| Market | Active listings | Bottom quarter, at most | Median | Top quarter, at least | Top 10%, at least |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tbilisi | 6,075 | 799 | 1,680 | 2,890 | 4,620 |
| Batumi | 3,813 | 575 | 1,310 | 2,370 | 3,790 |
| Gudauri | 663 | 995 | 1,960 | 3,280 | 5,780 |
| Bakuriani | 273 | 405 | 902 | 1,720 | 3,400 |
In every market a listing in the top 10% earns about 5 to 8 times as much in a month as one in the bottom quarter. The difference is not explained by size alone: within one-bedroom flats in Tbilisi, AirROI's average is GEL 14,100 a year against a median of GEL 10,300, which means a minority of strong listings pulls the average well above what a typical flat takes. AirROI converts dollar data to lari at GEL 2.69 and revises past months as its data improve, so read the figures as a picture of the spread rather than as exact amounts.
What landlords declare to the Revenue Service
The closest thing to a census of rental income is what individuals declare. According to Revenue Service statistics reported by Business Media Georgia on 7 August 2025:
- Total. Individuals received GEL 344 million from letting flats, commercial premises and offices in January to July 2025, 12% more than a year earlier.
- Monthly level. About GEL 49 million a month on average, from GEL 44 million in January to GEL 52.1 million in July.
- Number of lessors. 23,900 people in January 2025 and 28,300 in July 2025, against 26,300 in July 2024.
- Per lessor. GEL 1,835 a month on average, about USD 680 at the time.
The article itself warns that lessors are not categorised in the system, so one person letting a single flat and another letting a row of shops sit in the same average. The tax paid on this income is not reported, and the split between residential and commercial lets is not published. Older figures show how the declared market has grown: in 2014, 10,918 individuals paid tax on rental income and about GEL 28.43 million reached the budget, according to Revenue Service data reported by Interpressnews in February 2015.
We found no published count of people registered in the 5% residential landlord regime, no annual total of the 5% tax for 2023 to 2026, and no count of short-stay owners on the fixed tax. Those figures can be requested from the Revenue Service as public information, and we will add them here if they are released.
Short-stay flats: why the median matters more than the average
| Size | Tbilisi listings | Tbilisi median | Tbilisi average | Batumi listings | Batumi median | Batumi average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 388 | 10,200 | 12,800 | 558 | 5,090 | 7,370 |
| 1 bedroom | 3,263 | 10,300 | 14,100 | 1,915 | 5,220 | 8,730 |
| 2 bedrooms | 1,234 | 13,900 | 20,400 | 556 | 9,220 | 15,700 |
| 3 bedrooms | 308 | 24,200 | 36,000 | 122 | 11,800 | 24,500 |
The median is the flat in the middle: half of the listings took less, half took more. In both cities the average sits well above it for every size, by 25% to 49% in Tbilisi and by 45% to 108% in Batumi, because a smaller group of busy, well-run listings earns far more than the rest. Anyone quoting the average as what "a flat earns" is describing a flat better than the typical one. The gap is widest in Batumi, where the average 3-bedroom listing took more than twice the median one.
Occupancy shows the same split. In Tbilisi, AirROI puts the median listing at about 45% of nights booked, the top 10% at 85% or more and the bottom quarter at 22% or less; in Batumi the median is about 33%, the top 10% 79% or more and the bottom quarter 15% or less. The median nightly rate was about GEL 115 in Tbilisi and GEL 120 in Batumi. These figures are booking revenue before the platform's fee, management, cleaning, utilities and tax, and they are modelled from listing calendars, not taken from owners' bank statements.
Other trackers measure the same cities differently. BnbCalc puts the average Tbilisi listing at GEL 26,000 a year and the average Batumi listing at GEL 13,000, and its own pages show conflicting summary figures; Airbtics reports a median of USD 9,000 a year for Batumi. Our Batumi occupancy page explains why the sources disagree. Use one source, and compare a flat with the median of its own size.
Long lets: asking rent, not collected rent
For flats let by the month, the published figures describe what landlords ask, not what tenants pay. Galt & Taggart tracks rents for new flats of 50 to 60 m² in Tbilisi; TBC Capital labels its series "average asking rent" and takes the levels from listings on myhome.ge. Neither publishes rents from signed leases, and we found no source that does.
| Month | Source | Rent, USD per m² a month | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Galt & Taggart | 10.2 | 8.9% |
| January and February | TBC Capital | 10.0 | 8.1% |
| May | Galt & Taggart | 9.9 | 8.4% |
| June | Galt & Taggart | 10.1 | 8.5% |
| July | Galt & Taggart | 10.1 | 8.5% |
Asking rents can differ from the rent finally agreed, and a flat earns nothing in the weeks between tenants. The National Bank of Georgia has published its own rent index and capitalisation rate since August 2024, but it covers only two Tbilisi areas, Saburtalo and Varketili, and is also built from asking prices for typical one-room and three-room flats. In Batumi, Galt & Taggart's long-let rents for 2025 ran from USD 9.3 per m² a month in the inner areas to USD 10.9 in Old Batumi, and its source for them is Numbeo, a crowd-sourced site.
Individual cases on the public record
We searched English, Russian and Georgian sources for owners who have stated what a specific flat earned. Recent, independently reported cases with a verified figure are rare; we found none from 2024 to 2026. What exists is listed below, each with what kind of evidence it is.
| Case | What was reported | Type of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| New Batumi flats, 2020 | Buyers told they would recover the price in 2 to 3 years; actual nightly rates of at most USD 15 out of season and USD 60 to 70 for about 2 to 3 summer months | Named local entrepreneur quoted by a news outlet |
| 4 Batumi flats bought around 2011 | Sold for slightly less than the purchase price; with the rent received, a small overall profit | Named blogger quoted by the same outlet |
| Batumi flat bought in 2019 | About USD 30,000 with renovation; USD 550 a month net on a long let; valued at USD 50,000 in 2023 | Owner's own blog post, not checked |
| Batumi projects with income guarantees, 2022 | Guarantees of 7% to 10% a year in 6 projects; the article notes none had yet been paid, as the buildings were unfinished | Paid placement in a business magazine |
The 2019 flat's figures would mean about 22% a year on the price paid, far above any market average on this page, and they come from the owner alone, with no flat size, costs or period stated. The 2020 accounts describe the opposite experience. Neither should be taken as typical; together they show how far single stories can sit from the data.
We also looked for actual payouts from Batumi aparthotel rental pools, including Orbi City, Alliance, Pullman, Wyndham, Radisson and Holiday Inn projects, and found no published payout history, only advertised targets. How pool income is shared is covered in our guide to aparthotel rental pools.
From gross rent to what reaches the owner
| Line | Long let, 55 m² flat in Tbilisi | Short stays, median 1-bedroom listing in Tbilisi |
|---|---|---|
| Gross income a year | USD 6,666 (12 months at USD 556) | GEL 10,300 |
| 1 empty month between tenants | -USD 556 | Already in the booking data |
| Management at 20% | Not used | -GEL 2,060 |
| Tax | -USD 306 (5% of rent received) | Depends on the regime chosen |
| Left before running costs | USD 5,804 | GEL 8,240 before tax |
On a white-frame price of USD 78,430 for the 55 m² flat, the long let gives 8.5% gross, matching Galt & Taggart's city figure, and about 7.4% after one empty month and the tax. Finishing and furniture, building fees, repairs and any agent's fee for finding a tenant come on top. The short-stay column uses the median listing, not the average; on the average of GEL 14,100 the same deductions would leave GEL 11,280. At the National Bank's rate of GEL 2.5979 per dollar on 20 October 2026, the long let's USD 6,666 is about GEL 17,318 a year, but the two columns describe different flats and are not a like-for-like comparison. How tax works for each kind of letting is set out in our guide to rental income tax, and the full cost list in our page on running costs.
Our clients' results
This section will hold real results from flats that AVI Estates helped to buy or let, published only with each owner's written consent. None are shown yet.
To be added by the team: client case 1, a long let in Tbilisi: 12 months of rent received, empty weeks, tax and costs from the owner's statements, with a signed consent form.
To be added by the team: client case 2, short stays in Batumi: 12 months of platform payout reports, management fee, cleaning, utilities and tax, with a signed consent form.
To be added by the team: client case 3, a flat that earned less than planned, with what the owner changed, with a signed consent form.
Each case will follow the same rules:
- Separate written consent. Under the Law on Personal Data Protection, consent given inside a wider document has to be set apart in plain language (Article 32), and the owner can withdraw it at any time (Article 20). We will remove a case on request.
- No name without permission. The Law on Advertising forbids using a person's name or image in advertising without consent (Article 4(9)); by default the owner will be described only by city, flat size and year of purchase.
- Documents, not memories. Figures will come from bank statements, platform payout reports or tax returns for a stated 12-month period.
- Costs included. Each case will show vacancy, fees, repairs and tax, not only the rent.
- Weak results too. The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights treats information about the results to be expected as misleading if it is likely to deceive, even when factually correct (Article 25), and leaving out what a reader needs to decide as misleading too (Article 26). A page showing only the best flats would do exactly that.
How to test an income claim before you buy
A seller, developer or agent who quotes what a flat earns should be able to show it. Ask for the evidence in this order:
Ask for 12 months
A full year of platform payout reports or bank statements, not the best month.
Check it is this flat
The listing, address and dates must match the flat for sale.
Ask what was deducted
Platform fee, management, cleaning, utilities and tax.
Place it against the median
Compare with the median for the same size in the tables above.
Read any guarantee
Who pays, for how long, and what happens if they do not.
Build your own case
Rerun the numbers at the median, not the claim.
A flat's record says more about the building, the listing and the manager than about the next owner's results, so treat a strong record as a sign the flat can perform, not as a forecast.
Risks and exceptions
- Averages pulled up by the best. The average flat in these data earns more than the typical one.
- Asking, not achieved. Long-let figures are what landlords ask.
- Mixed tax data. Declared rental income combines homes, shops and offices.
- Single stories. One owner's account can be far from the market in either direction.
- Unpaid guarantees. A promised return is only as good as the company behind it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a typical Airbnb flat in Tbilisi earn?
The median 1-bedroom listing took GEL 10,300 in bookings over the 12 months to September 2026, on AirROI's data, before costs.
How much does a typical flat in Batumi earn from short stays?
The median 1-bedroom listing took GEL 5,220 a year, and the median listing GEL 1,310 in a month it was active.
How many people declare rental income in Georgia?
28,300 in July 2025, according to Revenue Service figures reported in the press.
What is the average rental income per landlord?
GEL 1,835 a month in 2025, but this mixes homes with shops and offices.
Are long-let rents in reports what tenants pay?
No. They are asking rents from listings.
Have aparthotel rental pools published their payouts?
We found no published payout history for any Batumi pool.
Why are there no client cases on this page yet?
We publish them only with written consent and supporting documents.
What should I ask a seller who quotes rental income?
12 months of payout reports or statements for that flat, with the deductions.
Sources
- Property lessors received GEL 344 million in January to July, Business Media Georgia, citing the Revenue Service, 7 August 2025 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tax on letting flats in 2014, official data, Interpressnews, 24 February 2015 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi market report, AirROI, updated 1 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Batumi market report, AirROI, updated 1 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Gudauri market report and Bakuriani market report, AirROI, updated 1 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi and Batumi market pages, BnbCalc (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Airbnb revenue in Batumi, Airbtics (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential real estate, January 2026, Galt & Taggart, 27 February 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential market monthly watch, February 2026, TBC Capital, 20 March 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Average rent held steady at USD 9.9 per m², GBC, citing Galt & Taggart, 1 July 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi real estate market report for June 2026, Homesoverseas, citing Galt & Taggart, 10 August 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Batumi residential real estate, 2025 review, Galt & Taggart, 6 March 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Residential price and rent indices, National Bank of Georgia, 13 August 2024 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Why investors are leaving Batumi, Strana, 30 May 2020 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Owner's blog post on a Batumi flat, smart-lab.ru, 8 March 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Batumi investment proposals with an income guarantee, Forbes Georgia, paid placement, 23 February 2022 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Advertising, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
- The value of apartment sales in Tbilisi reached USD 2.5 billion, GBC, citing Galt & Taggart's July 2026 review (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Official exchange rate of the lari, National Bank of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from Revenue Service figures reported by the press, AirROI, BnbCalc and Airbtics market data, Galt & Taggart and TBC Capital reports, National Bank of Georgia indices, published owner accounts and the laws on advertising, consumer rights and personal data.