What does it cost to run a let flat in Georgia each month?
A let flat in Georgia, the country, costs its owner more to run than an empty one, and how much more depends on the type of letting. With a long-term tenant, the owner usually pays only the building fee, insurance and repairs, while the tenant pays the bills. With short stays, the owner pays everything: cleaning after each guest, laundry, electricity for air conditioning or heating, internet and the building fee. In our illustration, a 30 m² studio let by the night in Batumi costs about GEL 370 to run in August and about GEL 240 in February, before platform fees, management and tax.
This page sets out who pays which cost under the Civil Code, the published prices for cleaning, laundry and common repairs in Tbilisi and Batumi, what heating and cooling add, and the rules of the homeowners' association. The yearly costs of owning a flat, such as property tax and the regulated utility tariffs, are covered in our guide to the cost of owning an apartment.
Who pays what
| Cost | Long let | Short stays |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity, gas, water, waste fee | Tenant, if the lease says so | Owner |
| Internet | By agreement | Owner |
| Building or association fee | Owner, unless the lease passes it on | Owner |
| Small current repairs | Tenant, as a rule | Owner |
| Structure, systems, appliances, normal wear | Owner | Owner |
| Cleaning and laundry | Tenant during the lease | Owner, after each stay |
| Insurance of the flat | Owner | Owner |
The Code's defaults can be changed by the lease. The landlord must keep the flat fit for use for the whole term (Article 532) and repay the tenant's necessary expenses on it (Article 545), and the tenant is not liable for wear from normal use (Article 547). The tenant of a home carries out current repairs "as a rule" (Article 548), and extra costs beyond rent, such as utilities or the association fee, can be charged to the tenant only if the parties agreed (Article 553). Write the split into the lease; our rental agreement template has a clause for it.
Cleaning and laundry for short stays
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Cleaning per check-in, through a Batumi manager | About 50 |
| Turnover cleaning for rentals, cleaning company | From 118 |
| Standard cleaning, 1 room / 2 rooms | From 95 / from 130 |
| Deep cleaning | From 200 to 291 |
| Regular cleaning in Batumi | 1.5 to 2.5 per m² |
| Hotel-grade linen and towels, retail laundry | 7 per kg, at least 3 kg |
| Linen laundry for businesses | About 2.30 to 3 per kg |
| Sofa / mattress dry cleaning, Batumi | 60 to 150 / 40 to 100 |
Company prices sit well above what a private cleaner or a management company's in-house staff charges, so the cost per stay varies more with who cleans than with the size of the flat. Linen is the other recurring item: the hotel industry plans for several sets per bed, so one is always in the wash, and replaces them after a limited number of washes. We found no published Georgian figure for the cost of consumables such as soap, coffee and toilet paper per stay; budget them separately.
Heating and cooling
Energy is the cost that moves most with the season. For gas heating, a Tbilisi Energy engineer told Radio Liberty in February 2026 that a boiler set to 45 °C costs about GEL 100 a month when it is +4 °C outside and about GEL 150 at -3 °C, and that the bill depends about 90% on the outdoor temperature; in the cold spell of January 2026, consumption rose by about half. At the SOCAR Georgia Gas tariff of 56.93 tetri per m³, 150 m³ a month costs GEL 85.40 and 300 m³ GEL 170.79. Geostat's household energy survey found that an average urban household used 1,345 m³ of gas and about 2,003 kWh of electricity a year.
Electric heating is dearer per unit of heat: a 2 kW heater running 10 hours a day uses about 600 kWh a month, around GEL 169 at the top electricity tier. A flat let by the night pays all of this itself, so heating rules in the house manual, and a thermostat that can be set remotely, protect the winter budget. With a long-term tenant, these bills are the tenant's if the lease says so.
Common repairs and what they cost
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Unblocking a drain | From 30 |
| Replacing a tap or mixer | From 30 to 40 |
| Repairing a pipe leak | From 50 |
| Replacing a toilet | From 50 to 80 |
| Electrician call-out, Tbilisi | 50 |
| Electrician call-out, Batumi | 70 on weekdays, 90 at weekends, 100 urgent |
| Deep cleaning of an air conditioner, per indoor unit | 150 to 220 |
| Annual service of a heating system | 200 to 500 |
| Repainting a prepared wall, one coat | 15 per m² |
Materials come on top, and call-out charges vary; one plumbing firm waives diagnosis if the job is ordered. The annual service figure comes from a heating installer's guide rather than a price list. We found no Georgian guidance on how much to set aside for repairs; an Australian landlord insurer suggests about 1% of the property's value a year as a broad starting point, which you can test against the age and finish of your flat.
The homeowners' association
Every block with several owners is legally a homeowners' association, and its rules apply to a let flat as to any other. Under the Law on Homeowners' Associations, each owner shares the common costs in proportion to the area of their flat unless the charter says otherwise, and not using the flat does not release the owner from paying. The association can go to court over unpaid contributions, and its chair can register a debt of more than GEL 500 in the Public Registry as a burden on the flat; a buyer then becomes liable for it. Members must also make sure their tenants follow the building's rules. Our guide to the homeowners' association covers meetings and decisions.
Large repairs are often co-financed by the city. Under Tbilisi's programme, last amended in 2019, district administrations pay the full cost of works such as roofs, lifts, internal pipes and entrances, provided the association holds 5% of the cost in its own account, or 3% for large structural works over GEL 100,000; the mayor said in 2023 that the city spends up to GEL 40 million a year on it. In Batumi's 2025 budget, the city paid in full for roofs damaged by natural disasters and 99% of lift replacement, with the association paying 1%. Ask the association about planned works and your share before they reach your statement.
A month in a Batumi studio let by the night
| Item | August, 3 stays | February, 1 stay |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | 150 | 50 |
| Laundry | 63 | 21 |
| Electricity, 250 kWh in August, 300 kWh in February | 55 | 67 |
| Water | 2 | 2 |
| Internet | 40 | 40 |
| Building fee | 47 | 47 |
| Insurance | 12 | 12 |
| Total | 369 | 239 |
These are the owner's own costs; the platform fee, any management fee and tax come on top and are covered in our guides to Airbnb in Batumi and property management. With a company cleaner at about GEL 118 per stay, August would cost about GEL 200 more. Repairs are left out because they come in lumps; a reserve set aside monthly evens them out.
A long let: the owner's share
With a long-term tenant who pays the bills, the owner's monthly costs shrink to the building fee, insurance and the repair reserve, plus tax and any management fee. Three steps keep it that way:
- Put the electricity and other accounts in the tenant's name where the supplier allows it, so unpaid bills stay with the tenant.
- Record the meter readings at handover and at the end, signed by both sides.
- Say in the lease who pays the association fee and which small repairs the tenant covers, with an amount.
Our guide to landlord rights and duties explains how utility accounts can be moved to a tenant.
A maintenance calendar
- Spring. Clean and service the air conditioners before the first summer guests.
- Autumn. Service the boiler and check radiators before the heating season.
- Between tenants. Repaint scuffed walls, deep-clean the sofa and mattress, replace worn linen.
- Every month. Check the association's statements and any planned works.
- Every year. Renew the insurance and review the repair reserve.
Budgeting the running costs step by step
Choose the letting model
Long let or short stays decides who pays the bills.
List the fixed costs
Building fee, insurance, internet.
Price the turnover
Cleaning and laundry per stay, times expected stays.
Add the season
Cooling in summer, heating in winter.
Set a repair reserve
A monthly amount in a separate account.
Write the split into the lease
For a long let, with amounts.
Compare actuals each quarter
Adjust prices or the cleaning arrangement.
Risks and exceptions
- Winter heating. Gas bills can double in a cold month.
- Association debts. Unpaid fees above GEL 500 can be registered on the flat.
- Unclear lease terms. Extra costs bind a tenant only if agreed.
- Cleaning costs. Company prices are more than twice a private cleaner's.
- Lumpy repairs. Without a reserve, one repair can take a month's income.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays utilities in a Georgian long let?
Usually the tenant, but only if the lease says so.
Who pays the building fee?
The owner, unless the lease passes it to the tenant.
How much is cleaning per guest in Batumi?
About GEL 50 through a manager; cleaning companies charge from about GEL 118.
How much does laundry cost?
About GEL 7 per kg of linen at a retail laundry.
How much does heating cost in winter?
About GEL 100 to 150 a month for a gas boiler, by a Tbilisi Energy example.
Who pays for repairs?
The tenant does small current repairs as a rule; the owner the rest.
Can the association make me pay if I never use the flat?
Yes, owners share common costs whether or not they use the flat.
Does the city help with building repairs?
Yes, Tbilisi and Batumi co-finance roofs, lifts and similar works.
Sources
- Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 532, 545, 547, 548, 553), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Homeowners' Associations, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi Sakrebulo Resolution No 12-29 on co-financing homeowners' associations, Participatory Hub (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Tbilisi mayor on the co-financing programme, Front News, 18 January 2023 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Batumi 2025 programme budget, Batumi City Hall (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Standard cleaning prices, Greeny (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Services and prices, Cleaning-360 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Services, Sparkle (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Cleaning and prices, Renovation24 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Rental management, Gruziaexpert (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Laundry prices, Mamalama (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Commercial linen laundry for sale, MBG, 16 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Plumber prices, Mastera.ge, and plumbing in Tbilisi, TrueHomeBuild (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Electrician services, Electrik.ge (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Air conditioner cleaning, AirFixer (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Cost of a central heating boiler, Goodworks (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Why gas bills rose in winter, Radio Tavisupleba, 10 February 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Heating costs in winter 2026, Gurianews, 17 October 2026 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Energy consumption in households, Geostat, 2022 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Internet packages, Magticom (accessed 20 October 2026)
- How much landlords set aside for maintenance, Terri Scheer Insurance (accessed 20 October 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from the Civil Code, the Law on Homeowners' Associations, Tbilisi and Batumi co-financing rules, published cleaning, laundry and repair price lists, Geostat and energy company statements.