Why are two different documents both called a project?
When a buyer hears that a flat needs a project, two different papers may be meant. One is a legal project: the documents attached to a building notice or permit application when the works count as reconstruction. The other is an interior design project: a designer's plans, 3D images and material lists telling the builders where every wall, socket, pipe and lamp goes. The law requires the first for certain works. No law requires the second for a private flat.
They can overlap: a designer who draws a new doorway through a load-bearing wall has planned works that need the legal route too. This page takes the law first, then the design project's contents, price and ownership.
Which flat works need no permit at all?
The dividing line is Article 4 of Government Resolution No 255 of 31 May 2019, as consolidated on 16 February 2026. Under Article 4(4), repair needs neither a construction permit nor a building notice: renovation, equipping and finishing in which neither the building's look nor its load-bearing structures change. For a flat owner the repair list includes:
- moving, adding or removing interior partitions (other than fire-separating walls), and cutting openings in them;
- repairing engineering networks used by one owner only;
- repairing or renewing the parts of common systems that serve the flats, including parts that run inside a flat;
- all repair and finishing work, without substantially changing dimensions or appearance (immovable cultural heritage monuments are an exception).
So a design that moves partitions, replaces floors, tiles the bathroom and adds built-in furniture is legally repair, with no filing. Reconstruction (Article 4(3)) is the other side: cutting an opening in a load-bearing structure; altering, replacing, adding or removing the building's engineering networks; and exterior changes, including a new material or colour that substantially changes the exterior. Our load-bearing wall guide has the full table.
When does a design turn into a legal project?
When the drawings include reconstruction. Annex 1 to Resolution No 255 lists among Class I works making or removing a mezzanine, stair, shop window, door, window or other opening, and installing an air conditioner and ventilation pipe. As Article 5(4) gives a class to the whole building, not to a part, reading these as Class I in one flat of a tall block is our view; a lawyer should confirm. Under Article 94(1) of the Spatial Planning Code, Class I construction needs a simple building notice, unless the Code provides otherwise, decided within 5 working days (Resolution No 255, Article 24(2)). A municipal council may require a detailed notice or a permit instead (Article 94(4)); we could not confirm whether Tbilisi or Batumi has done so for flats. Any reconstruction also needs an expert assessment of the building's existing condition (Article 21(3)).
Not confirmed by any text we found, so ask a lawyer or engineer: whether moving a kitchen or bathroom needs a permit; the rules for glazing a balcony; the registry fee for a re-planned flat; and the price of a new measurement drawing.
Skipping the legal step costs money. In Tbilisi, unpermitted reconstruction that leaves the building's dimensions unchanged is fined GEL 4,000 (Spatial Planning Code, Article 131(2)), or GEL 12,000 inside a cultural heritage protection zone (Article 131(2-1)).
Who may draw and sign the legal project?
For Class I works, Article 98(1) of the Spatial Planning Code lets any person prepare the notice documents, and that person answers for their legality. For Class II to IV, Article 98(2) gives the architectural part to an architect and the structural scheme to a structural engineer. The class of your own works is for an engineer or the municipality to confirm.
From 20 December 2026, architects and engineers who certify projects must be certified themselves. Article 140 of the Code sets that duty, Article 144(7) suspends it until that date, and Resolution No 316 of 7 July 2026 amended Resolution No 134 of 10 April 2024, on certifying architects and engineer-builders, so that its Articles 2 to 6 take effect on the same day. The Ministry of Economy's 2024 impact study says these professionals work without a certificate while Article 140 is suspended.
Interior designers are not mentioned in that study. Our reading, unconfirmed because we have not read the base text of Resolution No 134, is that purely decorative design is outside the scheme. If your drawings include reconstruction, ask who will sign that part.
What does an interior design project contain?
There is no standard package. The full packages published by two studios in Tbilisi and Batumi include:
- Measurement. A dimensioned plan of the flat as built.
- Layout. Two or three planning options with furniture.
- Demolition and new partitions. What comes down and what goes up.
- Electrics. Sockets, switches, lighting and low-current points.
- Water, sewage and heating. Plumbing points, radiators, underfloor heating.
- Ceilings, floors and walls. Including bathroom tile layouts.
- 3D images. Often limited: one mid-range package shows one room from three or four angles.
- Specification. Material, fitting and furniture lists the builder prices from.
Cheaper packages keep only the technical drawings. KPI Studios gives 4 to 8 weeks for design development. KStudio says it can start from the developer's drawings before completion and check the measurements afterwards, which it says shortens the renovation after handover.
What do studios charge for a design project?
Studios price design per square metre. The table shows two studios' advertised prices on 3 November 2026: examples, not market averages, from undated pages.
| Package | KPI Studios (Tbilisi) | KStudio (Batumi, Tbilisi, Kutaisi) |
|---|---|---|
| Planning only | USD 6 | From USD 7 |
| Technical drawings only | USD 10 | From USD 18 |
| Full design with 3D | USD 25, 35 or 40, by package | From USD 32 |
| Supervision of the works | USD 500 a month | Separate option, price not published |
| Consultation | GEL 300 an hour | From GEL 100 |
A renovation guide on remontimartivad.ge (updated May 2026) puts a designer's fee at about 5% to 10% of the renovation budget, or USD 10 to 50 per m². Stroy Elite Group in Batumi advertised design with 3D from USD 40 per m² on a 2024 page. STROYCOM in Batumi includes design only in renovation tariffs from USD 349 per m².
Our arithmetic for 60 m², at the National Bank of Georgia rate of GEL 2.5973 per USD valid on 3 November 2026: about USD 1,500 to 2,400 (GEL 3,896 to 6,234) for a full design, USD 600 to 1,080 (GEL 1,558 to 2,805) for drawings only. At that rate, USD 25 to 40 is GEL 65 to 104 per m², inside the GEL 50 to 131 range of our renovation cost calculator, which still holds.
Does the frame you bought change the answer?
It changes what a design can still decide. XO Development (March 2026) describes its green frame as plastered walls, screed often with heating pipes, electrical points in every room and pipes in the kitchen and bathrooms; its white frame typically lacks heating pipes and complete wiring. In white frame a designer can still place most points. In green frame the developer has already fixed sockets, wet points and partitions, so moving them undoes work you paid for. See our frames explainer and the building specification checklist for what the developer delivers.
| Situation | Design project | Legal project |
|---|---|---|
| Green frame, finishes and furniture only | Optional; a furniture plan may be enough | Not needed |
| White frame, partitions moved | Technical drawings at least | Not needed for partitions |
| Opening in a load-bearing wall | Useful | Needed, with an expert assessment |
| Changes to the building's networks | Useful | Needed |
| Kitchen or bathroom moved | Strongly advised | Not confirmed; ask an engineer |
| Flat bought to let quickly | Optional; a simple, durable finish matters more | Only if reconstruction is planned |
Does a design project save money?
We found no credible source, in English, Russian or Georgian, that quantifies what a design project saves on a flat renovation, and none that counts how many white or green frame buyers skip one. What exists is weaker:
- Sellers' claims, not evidence. Evospace, a Tbilisi firm that sells design and renovation, claims a detailed project protects you from mistakes and unforeseen costs, giving no figure. Construction Georgia, a Tbilisi contractor, claims in its 2026 price guide that a rough estimate almost always ends with a 30% to 50% surcharge, showing no data.
The case for a design is practical, not proven financially: the builder prices from drawings rather than conversations, and changes happen on paper first.
Who owns the design you paid for?
By default, you do. Under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Articles 16(1) and 43(8), the property rights in a work made to order belong to the client unless the contract provides otherwise, so you may hand the drawings to any builder. A studio's contract can reverse that, so read it.
The designer keeps the moral rights under Article 17 even after giving up the property rights, including authorship and integrity: the right to oppose changes to the work made without consent. How a court would weigh that against an owner later altering his own flat is not settled in any source we found. Under Article 18(6), the right to use an architectural project includes the right to implement it, which matters if the studio keeps the rights. The law does not name interior design among protected works; our reading that it is covered as an architectural or applied-art work needs a lawyer's confirmation.
Article 42 requires the contract to be written. Under Article 43(4), if you send no written approval or corrections within the agreed period, the work counts as approved.
What should the designer's contract say?
Our list from the articles above, not a legal template:
- Deliverables, counted. Drawings, 3D views and rooms, specification, rounds of changes.
- Measurement. Who measures, and a re-check if work starts from the developer's drawings.
- Review dates. A date per stage, with written approval or corrections.
- Rights. Property rights to you, or a licence to build naming the flat, term and territory.
- Legal works. Who checks structure and networks, who signs any notice documents, who pays the expert.
- Supervision. Site visits and fee.
- Money and time. Advance, stages, deadlines.
Author supervision has no definition in the Spatial Planning Code or Resolution No 255, by our search of both, so it is a contractual extra: one studio lists USD 500 a month. For the builder's contract, see our turnkey renovation explainer.
Risks and exceptions
- Unfiled reconstruction. Resolution No 315 of 3 October 2024 requires an internal measurement drawing to mark parts of a flat for which no construction documents, commissioning document or legalisation act was issued, so by our reading such changes surface at the next measurement.
- A poor green frame. PB Services, a Tbilisi and Batumi renovation firm, writes that green frame buyers cannot choose materials and that the finish is sometimes so poor it has to be redone.
- Rights kept by the studio. Building its design with another firm may then need a licence.
- Silence counted as approval. A missed review date can approve an unchecked stage.
Frequently asked questions
Is an interior design project required by law in Georgia?
No. Repair and finishing, including moving partitions, needs no permit or project. Drawings are legally required only for reconstruction.
Can I remove a wall between the kitchen and the living room?
A partition, yes, without a permit or notice, unless it is a fire-separating wall. An opening in a load-bearing wall is reconstruction and needs a notice or permit and an expert assessment.
Does my designer need a certificate?
Not for decorative design, by our reading. Certification for architects and engineers who certify projects starts on 20 December 2026.
Who owns the drawings after I pay?
You hold the property rights unless the contract says otherwise; the designer keeps authorship and integrity.
How much does a design project cost for a 60 m² flat?
About USD 1,500 to 2,400 for a full design at the USD 25 to 40 per m² two studios advertised in November 2026.
With the drawings in hand, price the works with renovation cost per m² and choose a builder with how to choose a renovation company in Tbilisi. Our own service is described under renovation and furniture.
Sources
- Government Resolution No 255 of 31 May 2019, Articles 4, 5, 21, 24 and Annex 1, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 16 February 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code of Georgia, Articles 94, 98, 131, 140 and 144, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 25 June 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Government Resolution No 316 of 7 July 2026, amending Resolution No 134 of 10 April 2024 on the certification of architects and engineers, Legislative Herald of Georgia, 8 July 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Regulatory impact assessment: certification of architects and engineers, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, 2024 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Government Resolution No 315 of 3 October 2024, rules for the internal measurement drawing, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights, Articles 6, 16, 17, 18, 42 and 43, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 9 December 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Apartment interior design, KPI Studios, not dated (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Interior design and renovation projects, KStudio, not dated (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Renovation prices, remontimartivad.ge, 12 March 2026, updated 4 May 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Price of apartment renovation work in Batumi, Stroy Elite Group, 30 May 2024, updated 7 July 2024 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tariff comparison, STROYCOM Batumi, not dated (accessed 3 November 2026)
- What is green frame?, XO Development, 11 March 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Renovation from black frame, Evospace, not dated (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Apartment renovation in Tbilisi: 2026 prices, Construction Georgia, 1 June 2026, updated 12 June 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Renovation in Georgia, PB Services, 15 November 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from Resolution No 255, the Spatial Planning Code, the Law on Copyright and Related Rights and published studio offers.