Rental of property

First of all, it is worth finally deciding on the city. You can familiarize yourself with the main cities in a separate section. In terms of residential property and prices, it can be noted that the highest prices are in Tbilisi and Batumi. However, in small cities (Ureki, Kobuleti, Poti, Gudauri, etc.), very few apartments are rented out and almost all of them are not suitable for permanent residence.

Before signing a contract, it is worth making sure of the decency of the landlord and checking the apartment for defects. The landlord may not know about the problems or deliberately hide the drawbacks of the property.

There is no central heating in Georgia and there are 3 types of heating apartments:

Boiler (this option is called central heating here). The apartment is heated by radiators installed in all rooms. Hot water comes from a gas boiler installed in each apartment (usually installed on the balcony, in a separate cabinet or room).

Karma. This is what they call gas heaters. This is a cheaper option to install, but at the same time it is less safe and its operation is more expensive due to rapid cooling and, as a result, the need for constant and continuous operation.

Heaters. Ordinary electric heaters that run on electricity. They heat poorly, heat a small area, and consume a lot of electricity. Electricity in Georgia is more expensive than gas and this option is much more expensive.

Summer in Georgia is very hot, so air conditioning is a mandatory attribute of an apartment.

Due to the humid climate, mold is a very common phenomenon. It is harmful to health and destroys furniture and equipment, and it is also difficult to remove. A malfunctioning ventilation system is one of the reasons for the appearance of mold and increased humidity in the apartment.

Connecting to Wi-Fi can take up to a month or more, so it makes sense to check the router and connection speed. The equipment should be checked to avoid future issues, and many landlords are very slow to do anything or do nothing at all after signing the contract.

It is necessary to check the performance of the kitchen stoves, the smell of gas, and the hood above the stove. It is also important to make sure of the quality of the water and its odor - the water in Tbilisi can be sulfuric and may have a smell of rotten eggs, in which case this smell will be throughout the apartment.

Often, work in Georgia is done slowly, and as a result, it can be extended for a very long time. There is no point in hoping that a construction project just started nearby will end in a month - it will last for years.

Good options are often rented very quickly, so there is no point in looking at options that are a week or even two days old.

The easiest way to find an apartment is to contact brokers (realtors are called that here). In Georgia, the commission for realtors is paid by the landlord, but despite this, working with brokers is not always the most profitable option. In recent months, brokers themselves have been calling all the ads from websites and offering their services on the condition that they rent out housing for $100-200 more.

The most profitable option for searching is continuous monitoring of services, but in this case, you risk running into inadequate landlords.

Facebook groups. You can search for "rent Tbilisi", "Tbilisi rent", "Tbilisi apartment", etc. and browse through the found groups and comment on the preferred options;

myhome.ge and ss.ge are the most popular housing search websites. There are many false options from brokers. You can filter by "from the owner" - false options will still appear, but much less frequently;

Slightly less popular housing search services are livo.ge, area.ge, place.ge and binebi.ge;

• In Batumi, you can also check batumistay.com, batumi-realtor.com, batumicenter.com and gancxadebebi.ge;

Most of the apartments for rent in Georgia are intended for seasonal rentals, which is why they often have relatively poor repairs and many beds. As a result, there are very few one-room or one-bedroom apartments, and their prices are often comparable (or even more expensive) than apartments with several bedrooms.

A contract is a mandatory attribute of renting an apartment in a foreign country. This is the only way to regulate your relationship and get reliable protection in case of disputes and problems. To simplify further procedures, the contract should be drawn up in Georgian. It is also possible to draw up a contract in two languages, for example, in Georgian and English.

1. The rental cost in the required currency, the amount of the deposit;
2. The number of prepaid months and their type - for the first month and deposit, for 1 and 12 months, for the first and last month, etc;
3. Date of entry, contract period, renewal rules, termination options;
4. Conditions for leaving the apartment. Conditions for returning the deposit in case of premature departure (for example, with one month's notice and/or finding another tenant to replace you);
5. Tenant data (yours) and landlord data (also compare with documents);
6. Inventory of property - all valuable equipment and utensils.

Everything else that is not described additionally in the contract or in case of its absence is regulated by the Civil Code of Georgia (Chapter Three, Property Lease).

If some points could not be fixed in the contract, they should be additionally discussed in messengers where the interlocutor does not have the ability to delete messages. In case of absence of an inventory of property - take a video of the condition of the apartment with all its shortcomings and send it to yourself by email or to another storage where the date is visible.

If for some reason you cannot or do not want to notarize the contract - you need to make sure that the person who is renting you the apartment and with whom you are signing the corresponding contract is the owner. This can be checked in the real estate registry.

In Georgia, in case of disputes, there is no requirement for the contract to be notarized, and even oral agreements have legal value. However, a notarized contract will speed up the processes in disputes on the verification of the document's truthfulness and increase the reliability of your relationship with the landlord. Such a contract also confirms your official stay in Georgia.

To notarize the contract, you need to contact any notary. To do this, you need to come with the apartment owner. You will need a foreign passport on your side, and on the landlord's side - the right to property. After notarizing the contract, you will be given a unique number from the registry.

• docx - download;
• pdf - download.

Gas and electricity are paid by meter. In some houses, electronic meters are installed that automatically read and send the readings, while in others, there are ordinary meters inside the apartment. The readings from ordinary meters are taken either by service workers or by apartment residents who send photos to workers via Viber or WhatsApp.

For water, in addition to payment by meter, there is also payment of a fixed amount depending on the number of registered residents in the apartment.

You can pay for utilities through your Georgian bank's app, or through special "PayBox" terminals, or through an ATM in your bank's branch.

• Internet banking
  1. Log in to the app.
  2. Select "payment for services," then select your service provider.
  3. In the payment window, enter the contract number (you need to ask the apartment owner).
  4. Then, your debt will be displayed in the app.
  5. Pay. A commission fee will be charged for the payment, as well as for any other transaction (on average, 50 tetri - 1 lari).
• PayBox and ATMs
  1. Find a terminal (orange, blue, or red and white, near stops and shops) or ATM of your bank.
  2. Select "payment for services," then select your service provider.
  3. In the payment window, enter the contract number (you need to ask the apartment owner).
  4. Then, your debt will be displayed on the screen.
  5. Add money and pay. A commission fee will be charged for the payment, as well as for any other transaction (on average, 50 tetri - 1 lari).