Tenant screening in Georgia: what a landlord can check

What can a landlord in Georgia check about a tenant?

Less than in many countries, but enough. In Georgia, the country, a landlord can verify identity from the original document, see the tenant's credit history if the tenant shares their own report, check the public Registry of Debtors for unpaid judgments in enforcement, and screen the name against the UN sanctions list. A landlord cannot order a credit report directly, and cannot search past court cases by a person's name. Whatever you collect is personal data under the 2023 law, and your choice of tenant is covered by the anti-discrimination law.

This checklist shows each check, how to do it and where the limits are, followed by the contract terms that protect you when screening cannot. For the wider letting process, from the contract to handover, see the guide to renting out an apartment as a non-resident.

Checks at a glance

Checking identity

See the original document, not a photo of it. Georgian citizens now receive new-design electronic ID cards with a QR code that shows the document's number and status when scanned; older cards remain valid until they expire, but laminated cards issued before 28 July 2011 lost their validity on 1 July 2024. For foreign passports and Georgian residence cards, the European Union's public PRADO register shows genuine specimens and their security features, which helps you spot a crude fake. Check the expiry date, and for a foreign tenant the residence card or the entry stamp. For a remote viewing, ask the tenant to hold the document next to their face on a live video call, and match the name to the one on the contract and on the bank account the rent will come from.

Checking the ability to pay

Georgia has a credit bureau, Creditinfo, but a private landlord cannot use it. Under the National Bank's rules, only lenders, or organisations that also report data to the bureau and hold the person's consent, may pull a report. The tenant can, however, download their own report: MyCreditinfo gives every person free access at least 3 times a year through their internet bank, showing loans, repayments and overdue debts, though not the score, which is a paid extra. Asking a Georgian tenant to share it is reasonable. A tenant who has just arrived from abroad will usually have an empty Georgian history, so ask instead for an employment contract or letter, or recent bank statements, and agree a first payment from their own account.

References and company tenants

A reference from a previous landlord is not a local custom, but asking for one costs nothing. Call the number yourself rather than relying on a letter, and ask two questions: did the tenant pay on time, and would that landlord let to them again? When a company rents a flat for an employee, ask for its identification number and check it in the Public Registry's register of entrepreneurs, then name the company in the lease as the tenant or as a guarantor, so that someone with a registered address answers for the rent.

The Registry of Debtors

The National Bureau of Enforcement keeps a public Registry of Debtors listing people against whom enforcement of a money claim began on or after 1 January 2010 and was not paid voluntarily. An entry shows the name, address, personal number and enforcement case, but not the amount. Anyone may ask for an extract, online or at an enforcement office, using the person's personal number; the rules set a fee of GEL 10 per extract, a figure from 2011 that you should confirm. An entry is a warning sign worth discussing; its absence proves less for a foreigner, who appears only if a Georgian court case reached enforcement.

Why you cannot search court cases

The courts' case system publishes decisions with the parties' names hidden, and a full court act can be opened only with its unique barcode number. A landlord therefore cannot find a tenant's past eviction or rent dispute by name. If a tenant mentions a court case, or shows a decision, you can verify that document by its barcode; otherwise the Registry of Debtors is the closest substitute, because unpaid money judgments that reach enforcement appear there.

Sanctions lists

Search the tenant's name on the UN Security Council consolidated list; it takes a minute and is free. Amendments to the money laundering law extended the duty to freeze the assets of UN-listed persons from banks and other obliged businesses to all natural and legal persons, which MONEYVAL's 2026 follow-up report describes as adopted; letting a flat to a listed person could breach it. EU and US sanctions do not bind a private landlord directly, but Georgian banks apply them, so rent from a listed person may never arrive.

Personal data: what you may collect and keep

The Law on Personal Data Protection, in force since 1 March 2024, excludes purely personal or household activity, but letting a flat for income is an economic activity, so a landlord who collects tenants' data is very likely a data controller under the law. The rules that follow are practical:

• Collect what the lease needs: name, document number, contact details. The lawful basis is the contract or the steps before it (Article 5(1)(b)).
• For extras such as a credit report or a reference, ask for consent (Article 5(1)(a)).
• Tell the tenant who you are, why you collect the data, on what basis and how long you keep it (Article 24).
• Do not ask for a criminal record or health information; these are special categories.
• Keep copies securely and delete what you no longer need after the tenancy and any claims end.
• A camera inside the flat while it is let is not acceptable; a camera at a shared entrance needs the written consent of more than half the owners (Article 10).

Fines for individuals start with a warning or GEL 1,000 for processing without a legal ground or breaching a principle, GEL 2,000 for special category data, and rise for repeated breaches.

What you may not base a decision on

Georgia's anti-discrimination law applies to private persons in all spheres, and the Public Defender stated in February 2023 that equal treatment covers housing, including private rentals, after an advertisement in Batumi refused buyers by citizenship. Protected grounds include race, skin colour, language, sex, age, citizenship, origin, religion, national or ethnic origin, property or social status, profession, marital status, health, disability and political opinion. Refusing a tenant because of nationality, or advertising "locals only", invites a complaint to the Public Defender, whose findings are recommendations, or a claim for damages in court. Objective criteria such as ability to pay, the number of occupants for the size of the flat, or a refusal to sign a written lease are legitimate grounds.

When screening is not enough: contract protections

• Deposit. Up to 3 months' rent under Article 552 of the Civil Code; one month is usual in Tbilisi.
• Guarantor. A surety must sign a written undertaking that states the maximum amount covered (Article 892).
• No subletting. The tenant may not sublet without consent (Article 549); write that short-stay letting is included in the ban.
• Inventory and photos. Signed at handover, they make deductions from the deposit provable.
• Payment from the tenant's own account. It confirms identity and leaves a record.

The clauses themselves are set out in our rental agreement template.

Warning signs

• Pressure to skip a written contract or to pay only in cash.
• An offer to pay many months in advance before showing any document.
• Someone other than the tenant paying, with no explanation.
• Questions about letting the flat to others or listing it online.
• A request to register a company at the address.
• Reluctance to meet, in person or on a video call.

Screening checklist

1. Meet the tenant

   In person or on a live video call, with the original ID.

2. Ask for proof of payment ability

   Their own credit report, an employment letter or statements.

3. Check the Registry of Debtors

   For a Georgian tenant, using the personal number.

4. Search the UN list

   One minute, free.

5. Inform and minimise

   Tell the tenant what you keep and why; keep little.

6. Sign a written lease

   With deposit, inventory and a no-sublet clause.

Risks and exceptions

• Over-collecting data. Copies you do not need are a liability.
• Discriminatory refusals. Nationality is not a lawful ground.
• False comfort. An empty credit history proves little for a newcomer.
• Fake documents. Photos of IDs are easy to alter.
• Unwritten terms. Without a contract, the Civil Code's defaults apply.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run a credit check on a tenant in Georgia?

Not directly; ask the tenant to share their own free MyCreditinfo report.

How do I check if a tenant has unpaid debts?

Request an extract from the Registry of Debtors with their personal number.

Can I search court cases by a tenant's name?

No, published decisions are anonymised.

May I keep a copy of the tenant's passport?

Yes, if needed for the lease, kept securely and deleted when no longer needed.

Can I refuse a tenant because of nationality?

No, that is discrimination under Georgian law.

How much deposit can I ask for?

Up to 3 months' rent; one month is usual.

Can I ask for a guarantor?

Yes, with a written undertaking stating the maximum amount.

Is there rent guarantee insurance in Georgia?

We found no such product.

Sources

1. Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
2. Free access to credit reports, National Bank of Georgia, 1 April 2021 (accessed 20 October 2026)
3. Customer protection, Creditinfo Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
4. Rules for keeping the Registry of Debtors, Order No 234, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
5. Case management system, Common Courts of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
6. New-design electronic ID cards, Georgia Today, 12 January 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
7. Old ID cards annulled from 1 July 2024, First Channel (accessed 20 October 2026)
8. Georgian residence card specimen, PRADO, Council of the European Union (accessed 20 October 2026)
9. Georgia: second enhanced follow-up report, MONEYVAL, 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
10. Freezing assets of sanctioned persons, First Channel, November 2025 (accessed 20 October 2026)
11. Law of Georgia on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
12. Statement on access to goods and services, Public Defender of Georgia, 9 February 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
13. Civil Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)

Change log

• 20 October 2026 - Checklist published from the personal data, anti-discrimination and enforcement rules, National Bank and Creditinfo credit report rules, the court case system and the UN sanctions list.