Building specification in Georgia: what the annex must say, line by line

Why does the specification decide what you can claim?

Under the Civil Code, a sold thing is free of material defects "if it is of the agreed quality" (Article 488(1), our translation). Only where no quality was agreed does the weaker test apply: fitness for the contractual or ordinary use. Work under a contract for work is judged against "the agreed conditions" (Article 641(1)). In our reading, for an off-plan flat the specification annex is where that quality is written, and only a measurable line gives you a yardstick; a lawyer should confirm.

A different thing or a smaller quantity is a defect too (Article 488(2)). The seller repairs at its own cost, materials included (Article 490); the buyer may terminate (Article 491), cut the price by the cost of the remedy (Article 492) or claim damages (Article 494(1)). Accept work knowing of a defect, without a claim, and that claim is lost (Article 652). Whether your contract is a sale, a work contract or a mix (Article 340) is for a lawyer.

Does any rule make the developer give you a specification?

Searching on 3 November 2026, we found no Georgian statute or resolution requiring a specification annex in a preliminary or sale contract, and no law on developer advertising. Georgia also has no special law on shared participation in construction, and the finishing labels have no legal definition: see our frames explainer and the entries for black, white and green frame.

Consumer law fills only part of the gap. The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, in force since 1 June 2022, protects a natural person who buys goods or services mainly for personal use, not business, and defines goods as movable things (Article 4), which a flat is not. Renovation work you order for your own home is a service under it, with the right to withdraw from a contract signed at your flat (Article 13) and remedies for late or failed work (Article 18). Whether finishing that a developer sells as part of the flat counts as a separate service is not confirmed, and we found no Agency decision against a developer over a flat. The annex has to be negotiated, before any reservation is paid.

Which wording gives you nothing to enforce?

The sales pages we read lean on phrases no inspector can test: "international standards", "top-quality", "full interior work". Materials appear without brand or performance, as in "elevators by international manufacturers". A clause letting the developer swap any item for an equivalent one, or a line ending "or equivalent", can undo even a precise annex.

The standard-terms rules may help a private buyer. Individually agreed terms prevail (Article 342(3)), and an unclear standard term is read for the other party (Article 345). Against a person not acting in business, a standard clause is void if it lets the proposer change or deviate from the promised work where that is unacceptable to the buyer (Article 347(d)), as are standard clauses limiting, contrary to the law, liability for defects of newly manufactured goods or works (Article 348(i)). A lawyer must judge any given clause. Our suggestion: substitutions only with your written consent, same standard, equal or better stated performance.

What do published specifications say today?

We read ten published descriptions from Tbilisi and Batumi: sales texts, not contracts, listed as examples in no order of merit. Where a portal carries the text, we could not confirm who wrote it.

None of the ten mentions ventilation. Korter.ge's Batumi white-frame guide notes that some developers run full wiring and others only risers, and advises: "Always request a written technical specification."

Windows and glass units: which numbers belong in the line?

Here Georgian rules give a hard number. Government Resolution No 354 of 13 July 2021 caps heat loss (U-values) for building elements; as amended in 2023, it binds new buildings whose permit application was filed after 30 June 2022. The window value covers frame and glass together and depends on the climate zone: Batumi is zone 1, Tbilisi zone 2.

The line should name the profile system and maker, the glass-unit build-up, any low-emission glass, the opening type and the U-value, and can cite two adopted Georgian standards (marked SST): SST EN 14351-1 for windows and SST EN 1279-5 for insulating glass units. It allows up to 10% more only if the whole envelope meets its overall limits, and wants the frame-to-wall gap insulated without voids and sealed. Older permits are not bound, so ask for the filing date. We found no reliable Georgian window price per m² and quote none.

Entrance door, walls and partitions: what should be measured?

"Metal entrance door" is a category, not a specification. On 3 November 2026 Gorgia, a large Georgian DIY chain, listed 56 steel entrance doors from GEL 454 to GEL 2,399 (median GEL 887), fitting excluded. The product names carry the key numbers: the cheapest has a 50 mm leaf and 0.4/0.8 mm steel sheets, one at GEL 1,549 has 1.2/1.5 mm sheets. If a price tag can state them, so can an annex, with the lock and insulation.

For walls, ask for block material and thickness of external walls, walls between flats and partitions. Insulation boards have standards: SST EN 13163 (expanded polystyrene), 13162 (mineral wool), 13164 (extruded polystyrene). Georgia has adopted SST EN ISO 717-1 for rating airborne sound insulation. Where the building safety rules apply, walls and floors between flats must rate at least 50 (45 tested on site) on US ASTM sound scales (Resolution No 41, subchapter 1207); ask the annex for rated values.

Screed, plaster and wiring: what makes these lines checkable?

Where the published texts mention screed and plaster at all, none gives a type, a thickness or a flatness tolerance. The annex can name the plaster mortar by SST EN 998-1 and the screed by SST EN 13813, give both thicknesses, and state the allowed deviation under a straight edge.

For wiring, an annex worth signing gives the sockets and switch points per room, the number of circuits, the cable cross-sections for lighting, sockets and cooker, residual-current protection, earthing, and where the board and meter sit, with a drawing of every point. We found no Georgian rule on cable sizes in flats, so these figures exist only if the annex states them.

Plumbing, heating and ventilation: what is installed, and up to where?

For water and sewage, state pipe material and diameter, risers and meter positions. Pipe is easy to specify: Gorgia sells 16 mm PEX-AL-PEX heating pipe at GEL 2.20 to GEL 3.85 per metre (3 November 2026).

"Heating pipes" can mean collector pipes only, pipes and radiators, or a full system with boiler. The same day Gorgia listed flat-sized gas boilers at GEL 1,650 to GEL 3,650 and 600 by 1000 mm steel panel radiators at GEL 181 to GEL 220; by our arithmetic six such radiators cost about GEL 1,200 before boiler and labour. The annex should say which option you get, how many radiators of what size, and whether gas and flue reach the boiler point. Resolution No 354 requires each radiator to have a mechanical shut-off valve or a thermostatic regulator (Article 10(2)); ask which. See heating a new apartment and the renovation cost calculator.

The resolution ties indoor air to EN 16798-1, with trickle vents or mechanical devices as options. Get the kitchen and bathroom extracts and each room's air inlet in writing.

Structure, lifts, fire safety and common areas: which standards can you name?

No sales page we read gives a concrete class. The annex can point to the class in the approved design and to SST EN 206, adopted in 2023. Eurocode 8 exists as a Georgian standard (SST EN 1998-1), but unlike Eurocodes 0 and 4 to 7 the Government has not admitted it for use, so the seismic norm remains PN 01.01-09; ask an engineer. See the earthquake code and building safety.

• Lifts. Brand, model, number per entrance and load, installed to SST EN 81-20. "One of" a developer's lift brands is no promise for your block.
• Fire safety. Design rules are in Resolution No 41 of 28 January 2016 (building safety rules); Resolution No 370 of 2015 governs use. Products can be classed under SST EN 13501-1. Projects permitted before 16 November 2017 may follow older rules; ask an engineer.
• Facade and common areas. Cladding and insulation thickness; lobby and stair finishes, lighting, yard, parking, each listed.

Should the annex mention the energy certificate?

Yes: the law sets the duty, and the annex can fix the paper trail. Under the Law of Georgia on Energy Efficiency of Buildings of 21 May 2020, new buildings must be certified (Article 7(3)). If a unit is sold before construction ends, the owner must assess the building's future energy performance, and the certificate must be issued no later than commissioning (Article 7(4)); buyers must be shown it and receive it on sale (Article 7(6)). These rules apply generally from 30 June 2023 (Article 20(5)), with fines on the owner from GEL 300 to GEL 1,500 by floor area (Article 12). In practice, the Energy Community Secretariat reported in December 2025 that the Government's certification rules were still awaiting adoption, and a search of Matsne on 3 November 2026 showed no such resolution yet; our guide to energy-efficient flats explains what to ask. Write in that you see the assessment before signing and get the certificate with the keys.

How do you tie the annex to the contract?

Buying immovable property needs a written transaction (Civil Code Article 183(1)). A contract is concluded once all essential terms are agreed, a term becomes essential when one party asks for agreement on it, and a preliminary contract takes the main contract's form (Article 327). In our reading, asking for the specification in writing makes it part of the bargain; a lawyer should confirm. Whether an annex must be registered we could not confirm.

1. Name it in the main text

   Annex number, title and page count, as an integral part of the contract.

2. Sign every page

   The same initialled version goes with the preliminary and the final contract.

3. Lock substitutions

   Only with your written consent, same standard, equal or better performance.

4. List show-flat extras

   Items displayed but not included.

5. Set warranty periods per element

   A defect within a seller's fitness period or a contractor's warranty period gives a claim (Articles 496, 653). Ask for periods for structure, roof, windows and boiler.

Other clauses: our developer contract guide.

How do you check the annex line by line at handover?

Any gap between annex and flat goes into the handover act before you sign, because under the work-contract rules a defect accepted knowingly without a claim is lost (Article 652). Our handover checklist covers the room-by-room walk; this table ties each annex line to its proof.

Ask also for the commissioning act (Spatial Planning Code, Article 139-1) and boiler and lift warranty papers. Contract claims on immovables run six years (Article 129(1)); work-contract defect claims one year, five for a structure (Article 655). In Tbilisi, paid pre-handover inspections exist, for example Expertebi.ge from GEL 3 per m² (checked 14 October 2026).

Risks and exceptions

• A label instead of a list. "White frame" alone fixes nothing measurable.
• An open substitution clause. Any item may be swapped for a cheaper one.
• An older permit. If the permit application was filed on or before 30 June 2022, the building need not meet Resolution No 354.
• Signing the handover act first. Gaps seen but not recorded are hard to claim.

Frequently asked questions

Must a developer attach a specification?

We found no rule requiring one. Ask for it before any reservation.

What U-value should a Tbilisi window have?

At most 1.8 W/m²K, frame included, for permits applied for after 30 June 2022; Batumi 2.2.

Can the developer swap materials for "equivalent" ones?

Only as your contract allows; against a private buyer such a standard clause may be challenged.

When is the energy certificate due for an off-plan flat?

By law, no later than commissioning, and it is handed to the buyer. The Government's certification rules were still awaiting adoption in December 2025, so ask whether one exists.

Choosing a finishing level first? See black, white and green frame.

Sources

1. Civil Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated text (accessed 3 November 2026)
2. Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Legislative Herald of Georgia, 29 March 2022, consolidated 15 December 2023 (accessed 3 November 2026)
3. Law of Georgia on Energy Efficiency of Buildings, Legislative Herald of Georgia, 21 May 2020, consolidated 27 June 2024 (accessed 3 November 2026)
4. Annual Implementation Report 2025, Energy Community Secretariat, December 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
5. Resolution No 354 on minimum energy-efficiency requirements, Government of Georgia, 13 July 2021, as amended (accessed 3 November 2026)
6. Resolution No 41, building safety rules, Government of Georgia, 28 January 2016, consolidated 4 September 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
7. Resolution No 370, technical regulation on fire safety rules and conditions, Government of Georgia, 23 July 2015, as amended (accessed 3 November 2026)
8. Eurocode admissions, Government of Georgia: No 369, 15 July 2022; No 412, 17 October 2023; No 236, 27 June 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
9. Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated text (accessed 3 November 2026)
10. Georgian standards search, Georgian National Agency for Standards and Metrology (accessed 3 November 2026)
11. Catalogue of Georgian-language standards as of 1 January 2025, Georgian National Agency for Standards and Metrology, February 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
12. Quality of construction, Archi (accessed 3 November 2026)
13. Grand Avenue, Archi (accessed 3 November 2026)
14. Tsinamdzghvrishvili 125, Axis (accessed 3 November 2026)
15. Central Park Towers, Orbi Group (accessed 3 November 2026)
16. m² Highlight, specification, m² (accessed 3 November 2026)
17. About Libretto, Biograpi Living (accessed 3 November 2026)
18. 27-31 Shartava Ave, Batumi, Korter.ge (accessed 3 November 2026)
19. Terrassa Green Tower, Korter.ge (accessed 3 November 2026)
20. New projects in Batumi with white frame, Korter.ge (accessed 3 November 2026)
21. What is green frame?, XO Development, 11 March 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
22. Metal doors, Gorgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
23. Central heating boilers, Gorgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
24. Radiators and towel dryers, Gorgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
25. Central heating system, Gorgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
26. Apartment inspection services, Expertebi.ge (accessed 14 October 2026)

Change log

• 3 November 2026 - Checklist published from the Civil Code, Resolution No 354, the Law on Energy Efficiency of Buildings, Georgian adopted standards and ten published developer descriptions.