ამხანაგობა: every owner in the building, united by law
A homeowners' association (ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობა, cut to ამხანაგობა in listings and in conversation) is the union of all owners of flats and non-residential space in one multi-apartment building, and Georgian law regards it as existing automatically once the building stands on one land plot and contains more than two individually owned flats.
The legal basis is Law of Georgia No 5277-რს "On Homeowners' Associations", adopted by Parliament on 11 July 2007 and consolidated most recently on 15 July 2020 (text on Matsne). Article 3(a) supplies the definition and names owners whose space is used commercially, so a ground-floor pharmacy or office sits in the same association as the flats above it. Article 11(1) says, in Georgian, "ამ კანონის ამოქმედებით დაფუძნებულად ითვლება": the association is deemed founded by the law's own entry into force, with no founding meeting, charter or notary.
Buyers who know a condominium association, a strata scheme, an Israeli ועד בית or a Russian ТСЖ often picture a registered company with its own accounts. The Georgian version is different. It is not a legal person (Article 14(1)), yet it may own property, keep bank accounts and act through its chair (Article 14(2)), and the law imposes no compulsory reserve fund. One more trap sits in the Georgian short form, because ამხანაგობა also names a contractual partnership under the Civil Code; the comparison further down separates the two. Meetings, majorities, fees and house rules are set out in our guide to the homeowners' association in Georgia.
Where Article 3 draws the line between yours and shared
Is this space mine, or does it belong to everybody? Article 3 of the 2007 law answers with three definitions, and Article 19 adds who counts as a member.
| Term | What the law includes | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners' association | The union of owners of residential and non-residential space in a multi-apartment house, including space used for business | 3(a) |
| Individual property | Ownership of a flat and/or non-residential space with its component parts, including utility rooms such as a cellar (სარდაფი) or attic (სხვენი) attached to it | 3(e) |
| Members' common property | The land plot, the multi-apartment house standing on it, and the engineering networks, devices and objects that nobody owns individually | 3(f) |
| Member | Every owner, from the moment ownership arises | 19(5) |
The cellar rule is easily missed: a basement room attached to a flat is individual property, one attached to nobody is common property. When a seller says a cellar "comes with the flat", the registry extract and the contract should show it, otherwise it may be shared space.
Article 6 forbids selling or mortgaging a flat apart from its stake in the common property, so the share of plot and building travels inside every sale. Our wording summarises Article 3 from a shortened text; for a dispute, rely on the full Georgian original.
From Soviet housing cooperatives to the 2007 law
The association replaced the Soviet-era housing-construction cooperative (Russian ЖСК) in two steps ten years apart.
| Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25 November 1997 | Housing-construction cooperatives abolished as legal entities; associations under Civil Code Articles 208 to 232 became their successors, while the State's liabilities to the cooperatives remained. | Civil Code Art. 1512 |
| 11 July 2007 | Parliament adopted the Law on Homeowners' Associations (No 5277-რს). The same day, Law No 5278 deleted Civil Code Articles 210 to 232; Article 214 had already gone with Law No 4744 of 11 May 2007. | Matsne; Civil Code |
| 9 February 2018 | Tbilisi City Council Resolution No 12-29 set up registration of associations with the district administrations. | Tbilisi City Council |
| 15 July 2020 | Date of the latest consolidated text of the 2007 law on Matsne. | Matsne |
| 2023 | About 10,274 associations registered across Tbilisi's districts. | Publika |
Only Articles 208 and 209 of the old Civil Code chapter survive. Article 209 deals with a narrow case: a buyer of a rented flat steps into the landlord's place. A charter or contract that still cites Civil Code Articles 210 to 232 refers to rules that no longer exist, so ask for the current charter.
Spotting the association in listings, extracts and contracts
The association registers with the municipality, not with the Public Registry, and it exists even if it never registers at all. A buyer therefore meets it indirectly, in five kinds of paperwork.
| Document | What to look for | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Property listing | The short word ამხანაგობა, sometimes with a monthly amount in lari; Russian-language adverts may write ТСЖ or товарищество | Usage, not a legal requirement |
| Municipal registration sheet | Issued by the Tbilisi district administration once the chair files the meeting minutes, charter and list of members | Resolution No 12-29 |
| Registry extract of the flat | An encumbrance for a member's unpaid association debt above GEL 500, entered by the chair with the meeting's agreement | Art. 14(5) |
| Registry entries on use | Written restrictions on how units may be used, for example on short stays, which bind only once registered | Art. 22 |
| Sale contract | The seller's statement on existing or expected obligations to the association | Art. 21(1) |
We could not confirm the listing wording from a cited sample, so treat the first row as a reading aid. The extract rows matter more, because a debt entry is an encumbrance, and under Article 14(6) a new owner answers jointly with the old one for unpaid obligations to the association. Our registry extract entry shows where encumbrances are printed on the document. In Batumi registration with the city is normally filed through the bma.batumi.gov.ge portal rather than at a district office.
Worked example: one flat's 2% of a lift
This is our own illustration, built only from the rules cited on this page. A buyer looks at a 72 m² flat in a Tbilisi block. The individually owned spaces in the building add up to 3,600 m².
- The stake. 72 divided by 3,600 gives 2%. That is the flat's share in the plot, structure and networks (Article 5(3)).
- Running costs. Unless the charter sets another key, the flat carries 2% of the common costs (Article 7(3)).
- A new lift in Tbilisi. Suppose the registered association wins a GEL 150,000 lift replacement under Resolution No 12-29. The district pays for the works, and the owners deposit 5% in the association's account, which is GEL 7,500. The flat's part is 2% of that: GEL 150.
- The same lift in Batumi. Batumi's 2025 budget split lift replacement 99% to the municipality and 1% to the association. On the same GEL 150,000 the association's part would be GEL 1,500, and this flat's 2% would be GEL 30. The 2026 Batumi budget keeps the programme "with municipal co-financing" but states no percentages.
- The cellar. We could not confirm whether an attached cellar's area enters the 3,600 m² total, so ask the chair.
We have not confirmed that the 2019 text of the Tbilisi resolution is unchanged in 2026. Monthly fees for a let flat are on our page about running costs of a let flat.
Association, partnership, manager or cooperative?
Four institutions hide behind similar Georgian and Russian words.
| Term | Legal basis | How it arises | Separate legal person? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeowners' association (ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობა) | Law No 5277-რს | By law, in a block on one plot with more than two individually owned flats | No, but it can hold property and accounts |
| Partnership (ამხანაგობა) | Civil Code Art. 930 | By contract between two or more persons who agree to act jointly towards a common business or other goal | No: the Code says it is formed "without creating a legal person" |
| Hired manager or management company | Art. 26 of the 2007 law; a service contract | The members elect a hired manager as chair by 2/3, or a developer appoints a manager at first | A provider working for the owners, not the association |
| Housing-construction cooperative (ЖСК) | Soviet law; Civil Code Art. 1512 | Historical; abolished from 25 November 1997 | It was; it no longer exists |
In a partnership the partners' contributions become their common property unless the contract provides otherwise (Civil Code Art. 932(3)). Article 930 calls it a contract of joint activity (ერთობლივი საქმიანობის (ამხანაგობის) ხელშეკრულება), so read the context. Owning one flat with a spouse or friend is different again: see co-ownership.
Homeowners' association in five languages
| Language | Term | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Georgian | ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობა (short: ამხანაგობა) | Full form in the law's title |
| English | homeowners' association | Not a company or condominium corporation |
| Russian | товарищество собственников | Listings may also write ТСЖ |
| Hebrew | אגודת בעלי הדירות | The legal body; ועד בית is the everyday word for building management and fees |
| Arabic | جمعية الملاك | Owners' association |
A Georgian contract should use the full form ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობა, as the law does, because the bare word ამხანაგობა can also be read as a partnership.
Misreadings that cost buyers money
- "The building has no association." In a block on one plot with more than two individually owned flats it exists by law. What may be missing is a city registration or an elected chair.
- "The old owner's debt stays with the old owner." Article 14(6) makes the new owner jointly liable for unpaid obligations to the association.
- "A clean extract means no debt." Only debts above GEL 500 that the chair chose to register, with the meeting's agreement, appear there. Smaller or unregistered arrears do not.
- "The cellar is included." Only a cellar attached to the flat is individual property; a shared basement is common property.
- "The developer's management firm is the association." A manager works for the owners; the association is the owners themselves.
- "A short-stay ban in the minutes binds me." Use restrictions agreed in writing take effect only once registered in the Public Registry (Article 22).
To be added by the team: scans and photos for the team to add: a redacted Tbilisi registration sheet of an association, a redacted registry extract showing an association debt entered as an encumbrance, a meeting notice on the board of a block's entrance, and a listing screenshot that mentions ამხანაგობა with a fee. Remove names, personal numbers and flat numbers first.
Checking a block's association before you buy
Confirm the building qualifies
One plot, more than two individually owned flats.
Find the chair
Ask the seller for the chair's name and contact.
Ask for the charter and registration
Current charter, latest minutes, the city's registration sheet.
Read the extract
Look for an association debt above GEL 500 and registered use restrictions.
Get the seller's statement
Obligations to the association, written into the contract.
Check the cellar or attic
Attached to the flat, or common property?
Frequently asked questions
What does ამხანაგობა mean in a Georgian listing?
Usually the homeowners' association of the building, in full ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობა.
Which law governs homeowners' associations in Georgia?
Law No 5277-რს "On Homeowners' Associations" of 11 July 2007, consolidated on 15 July 2020.
Does every apartment building have one?
Every building on one land plot with more than two individually owned flats, by force of Article 11(1).
Is the association a legal person?
No. It can still hold property, keep bank accounts and act through its chair (Article 14).
When does a buyer become a member?
On the day ownership of the flat begins (Article 19(5)).
Is a cellar part of my flat?
Only if it is attached to your flat; otherwise it is common property (Article 3(e), (f)).
Where is an association registered?
With the municipality: in Tbilisi with the district administration, in Batumi through the city's portal.
Can unpaid association fees show on the extract?
Yes, a debt above GEL 500 can be registered as an encumbrance with the meeting's agreement (Article 14(5)).
Sources
- Law of Georgia on Homeowners' Associations, No 5277-რს of 11 July 2007, English text, Matsne (accessed 28 October 2026)
- ბინათმესაკუთრეთა ამხანაგობის შესახებ, Georgian text, Articles 3 and 11, Matsne (accessed 28 October 2026)
- Civil Code of Georgia, Articles 208, 209, 930, 932 and 1512, Matsne (accessed 28 October 2026)
- Tbilisi City Council Resolution No 12-29 of 9 February 2018, consolidated text of December 2019, copy published by Participatory Hub
- Tbilisi City Council Resolution No 50-101, amending Resolution No 12-29, Matsne
- Lifts and registered associations in Tbilisi, Publika, 21 June 2023
- Batumi 2025 programme budget, sub-programme 02 04 01, Batumi City Hall (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Batumi 2026 budget, Batumi City Council resolution No 53 of 19 December 2025, Matsne
Change log
- - Glossary entry published from Matsne (Law on Homeowners' Associations, Civil Code), Tbilisi City Council, Participatory Hub, Publika, Batumi City Hall and Batumi City Council.