Does anyone count late projects in Georgia?
No. On 3 November 2026 we checked Geostat, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Galt & Taggart, TBC Capital, Colliers as reported in the media, and the Tbilisi and Batumi City Halls. None publishes the share of new-build projects handed over late, the average delay in months, or promised against actual completion dates. Any such figure you see comes from no official or analyst source.
What exists are proxies: permit and completion statistics, a cost index, the NBG's view of developers' finances, and the laws and programmes written to rescue stalled buildings. Each is labelled below, with what it cannot prove.
Proxy 1: completed area against permitted area
Dividing the total floor area of residential buildings Geostat records as completed by the floor area of those permitted shows whether finished buildings keep pace with approvals. In Tbilisi they have not.
| Period | Tbilisi | Adjara | Georgia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 40.1% | 23.9% | 35.2% |
| 2024 | 35.4% | 6.3% | 27.8% |
| 2025 | 32.7% | 17.3% | 28.0% |
| January-September 2026 | 30.4% | 18.9% | 26.2% |
Over 2023-2025 Tbilisi completed 5,844,865 m² against 16,224,499 m² permitted: 36.0% (our calculation). Why this is only a proxy: the buildings finished in a year are mostly not those permitted that year, so the share is neither a completion rate nor a delay rate. A share that keeps dropping is consistent with more and more permitted buildings standing unfinished, yet a building permitted in 2024 may be on schedule and simply due in 2027. The full tables are on our supply tracker.
Proxy 2: what has happened to building costs?
A developer selling off-plan at fixed prices carries the risk that building costs more than planned. Geostat's construction cost index, in lari, measures that risk.
| Component | Since February 2022 | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| All construction | +29.2% | +3.4% |
| Wages | +86.3% | -3.4% |
| Materials | +11.7% | +0.8% |
| Residential buildings | +24.2% | -0.6% |
Labour drove the squeeze: construction wages rose 46.8% in the twelve months to February 2024 (Geostat's year-on-year index; the monthly wage series is volatile). A developer that fixed prices in early 2022 was paying about 29% more, on average and in lari, for the same work by August 2026. By then the pressure had eased, with the residential index 0.6% below a year earlier. Costs explain stress, not lateness.
Proxy 3: how healthy are developers' finances?
The NBG's Financial Stability Report 2025 (8 October 2025) offers two relevant findings:
- Losses. In 2023, 32.4% of construction companies in the NBG's sample made a loss, the highest share of any sector, against 19% for all non-financial companies.
- Stress test. In the NBG's 2025 stress test of banks (preliminary results), the baseline stress scenario assumes real estate developers' turnover falls 40% (60% in the severe one), the largest fall assumed for any sector.
In a GBC report of October 2025, bankers named "the lack of money, which is preventing them from completing projects" as developers' main challenge, felt mostly by small firms, some of whose projects were taken over by branded companies. Our explanation of the link: with no rule keeping buyers' payments in escrow, projects pay for construction partly from new sales, so when sales slow, work on flats already paid for can slow too.
How long can a stalled building stay stalled?
The Tax Code gives the clearest answer. Article 309(79) exempts from VAT, with the right of credit, sales of property in wholly or partly residential buildings that had a construction permit in force, or an approved design, on 8 August 2008, during that month's war. Law No 1888 of 15 October 2026 extended the relief to 1 January 2033: the building must be commissioned before then and appear on a municipal list (Article 309(81)). So in 2026 the State still offers a tax incentive to finish buildings permitted 18 years ago. The number of buildings on the lists is not published.
Tbilisi has a second regime. Government Decree No 244 of 24 May 2019 defined "unfinished construction" for the capital: a building permitted before 1 January 2013 where works began but did not finish. Whoever completes such a residential building, the original developer or any interested party, may be allowed extra density (K-2) and other deviations, with the Sakrebulo's agreement. Applications first had a one-year window, which the government has extended repeatedly since 2020; Decree No 279 of 22 June 2026 set the deadline at 31 December 2026, after which only buildings already applied for can seek further measures. These are tools to get buildings finished, not remedies for their buyers.
Why did Parliament give some projects until 2028?
In Tbilisi a developer can exceed the zoning density by signing a special zonal agreement that raises the K-2 coefficient, for a fee. An October 2025 draft law put these arrears at about GEL 7.2 million, with around 10 Tbilisi projects in court over the fees.
It became Law No 970 of 15 October 2025. For agreements issued on or before 1 June 2017, the municipality may now take the fee in instalments "for the timely completion of building construction", if the developer undertakes to apply for commissioning by 31 December 2028 at the latest (Law on Local Fees, Article 17-2(1)). Our reading: buildings with density deals from 2017 or earlier were still not commissioned in 2025, and have up to three more years. If a project relies on an old K-2 deal, ask whether the fee is paid.
What does Tbilisi's own record of stalled projects show?
These are separate dated statements, not one series; do not add them up.
| Date | What was stated |
|---|---|
| 26 March 2025 | Cases of 2,500 of the 3,500 families hit by failed housing cooperatives resolved. |
| 6 August 2025 | 910 finished buildings (nearly 30,000 families) commissioned under a temporary framework; 230 more (about 10,000 families) under review. |
| 23 December 2025 | Mayor's annual report: "up to 20 unfinished construction projects" to be completed or put into operation by the end of 2026. |
| 25 March 2026 | A project for 158 cooperative families, stalled since the 1990s, moved to a new site. |
| 18 May 2026 | Sakrebulo resolution allowing extra density on land given to cooperative victims before 2018. |
The cooperatives date from the 1980s, when families paid state banks for flats in buildings mostly never finished; since 2017 the city has traded municipal land with developers for flats for them. That is the extreme end of a Georgian delay: over 30 years. The 910 buildings are a different problem, built but not legally commissioned. We found no follow-up on how many of the 20 projects were finished in 2026.
What happened with Center Point?
Center Point, a private developer group of the 2000s, is Georgia's best-documented failure. It sold flats off-plan and left many buildings unfinished; 2013 reports counted more than 6,000 families with contracts.
The city, not the developer, organised the rescue. In September 2021 a deputy mayor said City Hall let completing companies raise K-2 where possible in return for payments into a special fund, which had spent GEL 9 million. In July 2026 the Mayor said families had chosen the completing companies themselves, and that one company still had 433 families waiting on Marijani Street and 114 in Vashlijvari. For 2000s contracts, that is a wait of well over a decade. When a developer fails, completion may depend on others stepping in years later; see what to do when the developer is late.
What did the 2020 pandemic do to projects already sold?
On 28 May 2020 the government presented a support plan noting about 25,000 mortgage contracts signed in 2019-2020 for flats still under construction, and promised to see these projects finished. It offered:
- GEL 200 million set aside for completing projects, under which the State would buy 30% of a project's residential space if the developer could not sell it;
- a 4-percentage-point mortgage interest subsidy for five years on new-build loans up to GEL 200,000 taken from 1 June 2020 to 1 January 2021;
- an escrow system for buyers' payments, to come "step-by-step".
We found no law or NBG act creating that escrow system; escrow remains an optional bank product. The floor area of residential buildings completed in Tbilisi was 1,229,739 m² in 2019, 585,423 m² in 2020 and 569,119 m² in 2021, then 1,672,884 m² in 2022 (Geostat). Geostat gives no cause, but the timing fits the pandemic. How many projects used this offer is not published.
Why do Georgian projects run late?
| Cause | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Construction paid for by sales | No statutory off-plan or escrow regime (Chambers Real Estate 2026); bankers name lack of money as the main obstacle (GBC, October 2025). |
| Rising building costs | Costs +29.2%, wages +86.3%, February 2022 to August 2026 (Geostat). |
| Shortage of workers | A large developer said in July 2025 that the new work-permit rule for foreign workers "could delay or obstruct project deadlines". |
| Permit expiry | A building unfinished at expiry needs a new permit (Spatial Planning Code, Articles 111-112). |
| Unpaid density fees | About 10 Tbilisi projects in court over K-2 fees (Law No 970 above). |
| Commissioning | For permits from 1 January 2022, no use before the commissioning act (Spatial Planning Code, Article 139-1). |
| Shocks | The 2008 war and crisis; COVID-19 in 2020. |
| Bad faith | Documented, for example the 2026 fraud conviction described below. |
What does the law say about a late developer?
Under the Civil Code a developer is in delay if it misses the agreed date or still fails to perform after your warning (Article 400), but not if the cause is outside its fault (Article 401), so read its clauses on permits, utilities and force majeure closely. A delay penalty exists only if the written contract sets one, and a court may reduce a disproportionately high one (Articles 417-420); the law fixes no rate. Our developer contract guide shows the clauses to ask for.
Late delivery is normally a civil breach, not a crime; a 2024 legal explainer in Georgia Today said it "is not generally considered fraud". Deceit from the start is different. On 14 March 2026 the Prosecutor's Office reported that a Tbilisi court had convicted two people who set up a company, took GEL 10,726,497.95 from 161 buyers for flats in a building under construction, and never completed it. A conviction punishes; it does not finish the building.
How can you judge delay risk before you buy?
With no published delay rates, judge each project yourself:
- Suspended sites. Tbilisi City Hall's interactive map (since 27 November 2025) shows sites where construction is suspended; check the developer's other sites too. Batumi must keep a register of suspended sites, but we could not confirm it is public, so ask the developer in writing.
- Permit age. Find the permit date in the Tbilisi Architecture Service's public document search. An old permit on a building still at frame stage is a warning sign (our view).
- Legacy status. Ask whether the building is on a pre-2008 VAT-relief list or recognised as "unfinished construction"; either means it stalled before.
- Track record. Compare the dates promised for the developer's earlier buildings with their commissioning acts.
- Money. Check the plot for a mortgage in the Public Registry extract, and look for the company's financial statements on reportal.ge.
- Stage against schedule. Compare the site with the developer's timetable; see construction stages.
More questions are in how to check a developer; why promised dates are hard to verify is covered in the new projects calendar.
Risks and exceptions
- Trusting a delay statistic. No official one exists; ask where any figure comes from.
- Reading the permit-completion ratio as a failure rate. It compares different buildings.
- A contract with no penalty. The law sets none for you.
- Paying ahead of the works. Money paid early for a stalled building may wait years.
Frequently asked questions
What share of new builds in Georgia are delivered late?
Nobody knows: no official body or analyst publishes it. Treat any percentage you are given as unsourced.
Are construction costs still rising fast?
Less than before. Geostat's residential index was 0.6% lower in August 2026 than a year earlier, though still 24.2% above February 2022.
Is a late developer committing fraud?
Usually not; late delivery is normally a civil breach. Fraud cases involve deceit from the start.
Does Georgian law set a penalty for late delivery?
No. Only the contract can, so negotiate a penalty per month of delay before signing.
Are there still unfinished buildings from before 2008?
Yes. The Tax Code offers them VAT relief if they are commissioned before 1 January 2033.
For the market picture behind these delays, read Tbilisi apartment supply; to put a delay into your investment numbers, see off-plan investment.
Sources
- Permissions Granted for Construction and Completed Objects, January-September 2026, Geostat, 30 October 2026 (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Completed objects by type, 2019-2026, Geostat data tables (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Permissions granted for construction by type, 2019-2026, Geostat data tables (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Construction Cost Index, February 2022 = 100, Geostat (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Construction Cost Index, same month of the previous year = 100, Geostat (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Financial Stability Report 2025 (pp. 50 and 107), National Bank of Georgia, 8 October 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Developers count the cost of regulatory relaxation, GBC, October 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia, Article 309, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Law No 1888 of 15 October 2026 amending the Tax Code, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Government Decree No 244 of 24 May 2019, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Government Decree No 279 of 22 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Zonal K2 coefficient arrears to be postponed, draft law, BM.ge, 14 October 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Law No 970 of 15 October 2025 amending the Law on Local Fees, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Flats for cooperative housing victims, FactCheck.ge, 31 May 2021 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Cooperative housing: 2,500 of 3,500 families, Rustavi 2, 26 March 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi reviewing commissioning of 230 residential buildings, BM.ge, 6 August 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi Mayor presents 2025 report to City Assembly, First Channel, 23 December 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi relocates cooperative housing project on Virsaladze Street, Georgia Today, 25 March 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi Sakrebulo Resolution No 12-35 of 18 May 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Swindling homebuyers in Georgia (opinion), The Moscow Times, 14 July 2013 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- The City Hall scheme to complete Center Point facilities, BM.ge, 16 September 2021 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Marijani Street construction company fined after slope collapse, Georgia Today, 8 July 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Georgia unveils plan to help construction business amid pandemic, Civil.ge, 28 May 2020 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Prime Minister presents anti-crisis plan supporting property development, First Channel, 28 May 2020 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Real Estate 2026: Georgia, Chambers and Partners, 7 May 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Shortage of qualified workers, BM.ge, 16 July 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Civil Code of Georgia, Articles 400-401 and 417-420, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- What constitutes a crime in contract scenarios and real estate transactions, Georgia Today, 25 April 2024 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Prosecutor's Office: two persons found guilty of fraud over an unfinished building, Interpressnews, 14 March 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi launches interactive map to track construction status, BM.ge, 27 November 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Batumi Sakrebulo Resolution No 7 of 30 March 2023, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from Geostat, NBG, official legal texts and dated Tbilisi City Hall statements.