Batumi high-rises: construction quality, fire safety and what to check

How good are Batumi's towers?

Batumi has built more tall buildings in fifteen years than any other city in Georgia, and towers of 30, 40 and 50 floors now line the coast. Buyers ask the same question about all of them: is this building safe and well made? There is no single answer, because quality depends on the developer, the designer, the contractor and how carefully the rules were followed. What we can do is explain the rules a tower must meet, what has gone wrong in Batumi, and what to check before you buy a flat high above the sea.

This guide covers Batumi's high-rises specifically. For checks that apply to any off-plan purchase, see our developer checklist; for earthquake safety in general, our guide on earthquake safety in Tbilisi explains the codes that apply across the country.

The tallest buildings

Taller buildings are on the way: the same list shows a 260 m tower under construction with an expected finish in 2027. We found no official count of buildings by height; the Wikipedia list of Georgia's tallest buildings has 18 completed Batumi entries over 100 m, 8 of them over 150 m.

The building class and what it means

Georgian rules sort buildings into classes by risk. Under the government decree on construction permits, as amended in 2019, any building taller than 22 m or larger than 6,000 m² is Class IV. Almost every Batumi tower is therefore Class IV. Class V is a separate category for structures of increased technical risk, not simply for tall buildings, so a seller who says a residential tower is "Class V" has the terms wrong.

Class matters because it sets the paperwork. A Class IV building needs a construction permit issued after the design is checked, the developer must hire an accredited technical supervisor to watch the works, and the building must be formally accepted into use at the end. The public supervisor, however, is only required to inspect 10% of the Class III and IV buildings permitted the year before. Most quality control therefore rests on the developer, its contractor and the private supervisor it pays.

Earthquakes and wind

Batumi sits in a lower seismic zone than Tbilisi. The national seismic code assigns Batumi an intensity of 7 on the MSK-64 scale with a design ground acceleration of 0.09, against 8 and 0.17 for Tbilisi and 8 and 0.13 for nearby Kobuleti. That does not make earthquakes irrelevant, but it means wind, rain and salt are the forces a Batumi tower meets every year.

The national climate code for building design gives Batumi an average relative humidity of 81%, about 2,599 mm of rain a year with a daily maximum of 231 mm, and winds of up to 28 m per second expected once in 20 years. These figures explain the problems owners report most: rusting balcony fixings, failing window seals, water getting into facades and balconies that are too windy to use on high floors.

Fire rules for tall buildings

A government fire-safety regulation in force since 1 January 2017 sets extra rules for high-rises, defined as buildings with an occupied floor more than 23 m above the level that a fire engine can reach. In the original text, such buildings need:

• sprinklers throughout and an alarm with voice announcements;
• a fire command centre;
• standby power from a generator housed in a fire-resistant room;
• smoke-protected staircases;
• above 37 m, two lifts for firefighters with a capacity of at least 1,600 kg;
• above 130 m, an additional staircase and doubled sprinkler supply.

Buildings designed before 2017 may have been built under older rules, and later amendments may have changed details, so ask the developer or the owners' association which rules the tower was designed under and whether the systems are maintained.

What has gone wrong

The worst case was the Leogrand hotel fire on 24 November 2017. Eleven people died from smoke in the 22-storey hotel, eight of them found in a lift. The minister of internal affairs said the only staircase was filled with smoke, and guests were stranded on the seventh floor. The investigation found no automatic fire or smoke alarm, and in December 2018 two staff members were jailed for five and a half and two years.

A second fire on 18 December 2022 started in a restaurant on the 24th and 25th floors of the VOX residential tower on Aghmashenebeli Avenue. More than 280 residents were evacuated, ten fire brigades attended, and no one was hurt. We found no other tower fire in Batumi between 2018 and 2026, and no published record of lift or falling-glass accidents, though that does not mean none occurred.

Unfinished towers are the other risk. The Azure Tower was started in April 2013 and due in 2015, but its developer failed; the state sold the unfinished shell for GEL 24.9 million in May 2019, and the building was completed in June 2024, about eleven years after work began. Buyers who paid early waited years.

Acceptance into use

At the end of construction a Class IV building must be formally accepted into use. The authority has 30 working days to decide, and if it does not respond in time, the building is treated as accepted. The application must include test certificates for lifts and fire systems. Acceptance therefore proves that papers were filed, not that every system works perfectly, but a tower without it is a warning sign. Ask for the acceptance document and the date, and check that the floors and number of flats match the permit.

Batumi also has a special rule. Since amendments of June 2022, the city hall may allow buildings to exceed density and height limits until a new general plan is adopted, expected in 2027. The Public Defender challenged the rule at the Constitutional Court, arguing that it lets builders bypass strength, fire and evacuation standards; we found no ruling. A draft rule in 2023 would also have allowed buildings built in breach of their permits to be accepted. For a buyer, the practical step is to compare the building with the permit, floor by floor.

Who runs the building after handover

Under the Law on Homeowners' Associations of 2007, an association forms automatically in any building with more than two flats, and owners share the costs of common parts according to their share of the area. In practice many towers are run by a management company linked to the developer, with a monthly fee per m²; one listing in 2026 quoted USD 1 per m² a month. Before buying, ask who manages the building, what the fee covers, and how much is set aside for lifts, pumps, the generator and the facade.

What to check in a tower

For an off-plan flat, the same checks become questions for the developer: which fire rules apply, which supervisor is engaged, when acceptance is expected, and what happens to your payments if the project stops. Our guide to checking a construction permit shows where to find the documents.

Humidity inside the flat

Damp is a building-quality issue as much as a lifestyle one. Poor ventilation, thermal bridges at balcony slabs and badly fitted windows lead to condensation and mould, especially in flats that stand empty in winter. In a viewing, look at the corners of rooms on the sea side, behind wardrobes and around window frames, and ask whether the building has mechanical ventilation in bathrooms and kitchens.

Pros and cons of buying high

Checking a tower step by step

1. Get the permit and acceptance

   Compare floors and flats with what stands.

2. Ask which fire rules apply

   Designed before or after 2017.

3. Walk the staircase

   From your floor to the street.

4. See the generator and pumps

   And their maintenance log.

5. Inspect the balcony

   Fixings, drains and seals.

6. Read the management terms

   Fee, reserve and who decides.

Frequently asked questions

What class are Batumi towers?

Class IV: any building over 22 m high or 6,000 m² in area.

Is Batumi at high earthquake risk?

Lower than Tbilisi: intensity 7 on the MSK-64 scale against 8 for Tbilisi.

Do towers need sprinklers?

Under the fire rules in force since 2017, buildings with occupied floors above 23 m need sprinklers throughout.

What happened at the Leogrand?

A fire in November 2017 killed 11 people; the only staircase filled with smoke and there was no automatic alarm.

Who inspects towers during construction?

A private accredited supervisor hired by the developer; the public supervisor must check only 10% of large buildings.

What does acceptance into use prove?

That the paperwork, including lift and fire tests, was filed; silence by the authority for 30 working days counts as acceptance.

Who manages a tower after completion?

An owners' association forms by law, but many towers are run by a management company for a monthly fee.

How long can an unfinished tower take?

The Azure Tower took about eleven years from start to completion.

Sources

1. Government Decree No 269 of 7 June 2019 amending the construction permit rules (building classes), Legislative Herald of Georgia
2. Seismic design code PN 01.01-09, Legislative Herald of Georgia
3. Government Resolution No 41 of 2016 on fire safety, Legislative Herald of Georgia
4. List of tallest buildings in Georgia, 2017 Batumi hotel fire and Babillon (Azure) Tower, Wikipedia (accessed 27 October 2026)
5. VOX lounge bar in a Batumi residential block burnt, Front News, December 2022, and Fire at Batumi hotel leaves eleven dead, Eurasia Review, 25 November 2017
6. Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code, Legislative Herald of Georgia
7. Public Defender's constitutional claim on the Batumi exception, Public Defender of Georgia
8. Law on Homeowners' Associations, Legislative Herald of Georgia
9. Service fee example, Realting (2026), and Government sells Babylon Tower for GEL 24.9 million, BM.ge

Change log

• 27 October 2026 - Explainer published from government decrees on building classes and fire safety, the seismic code, the planning code, the Law on Homeowners' Associations, Wikipedia, Front News, Eurasia Review, the Public Defender, BM.ge and Realting.