How to Buy a House in Georgia as a Foreigner: Plot, Papers, Prices, Traps

Updated: November 2026

What a house is legally: building, plot and category

In the registry a building and the land under it are separate objects (see the guide on verifying a property), possibly with different owners, encumbrances and status. Law No. 4849-II counts pasture, hayfield, arable land and a homestead plot as agricultural land, with or without buildings (Article 3); a house on agricultural land is allowed only as part of a homestead (Article 6(2)). So a village house often stands on a plot that cannot be sold to a foreigner.

What a foreigner may buy

The limit in Organic Law No. 4848-II covers agricultural land only (Articles 3(a), 4). A foreign individual may buy a house and plot registered as non-agricultural, and may receive any land by inheritance (Article 4(2)(a)). Leasing and companies are in the guide on land for foreigners.

Where houses are sold and what we know about prices

We found no official house prices for the regions; judge village and resort houses by actual deals. Confirmed figures exist only for new detached houses in Tbilisi: the Geostat index (23.10.2026) covers only new housing in Tbilisi, flats and detached houses, using asking prices from listing sites.

In Q3 2026 detached houses rose 2.7% on the quarter and 7.0% on Q3 2025. District prices come from Georgia Today (26.10.2026, secondary source); the district order matches Geostat's chart. We did not find whether the plot is in the price per m².

House traps that flats do not have

• Title not registered: the seller holds the house in fact, or inherited it without registering. Systematic land registration ended on 01.01.2026 (59 municipalities, not self-governing cities; cadastral coverage above 95% on 01.12.2025, NAPR). Others apply in the ordinary way; the NAPR fee page lists 300 GEL lines with different terms (4 working days, 3 months): confirm with NAPR.
• Shares and heirs: check each share in the extract; all owners must sign.
• Boundaries do not match the plan: compare the cadastral plan (7/26 GEL) with the fence; during systematic registration about 60% of earlier registered plots had boundaries refined (Georgia Today, 2023, secondary source).
• Unregistered extensions: NAPR has a legalisation service (14 working days, 500 GEL), but Article 4(1) of the legalisation law speaks of property whose right arose from state or municipal acts before the law; a lawyer decides whether it fits. Ask for the construction permit and commissioning act.
• Easements and access: an easement is a registrable right (Public Registry Law, Article 11) shown in the extract. Whether the plot reaches a public road we did not check in the law: ask a lawyer and drive the road in winter.

Utilities, heating and natural hazards

We found no open source for connection costs: ask the seller and the supplier in writing. JAM News (08.02.2024), citing geological bulletins, says about 70% of Georgia's territory and up to 60% of settlements fall in hazard categories, 20% of territory in the high one (a retelling). NEA lists paid engineering-geological reports on construction sites and hazard zoning maps; we found no public map and no rule making a report mandatory for a buyer.

• Electricity and gas: whose name is on the meters, capacity, debts, is the gas pipe connected. IEA (2020): about 80% of rural households heat with wood.
• Water and sewage: mains, borehole or well; septic tank.
• Slope above the house, traces of water and mud: ask for an NEA or geologist report.

Buying step by step: from certificate to registration

1. Get the cadastral codes of the plot and the building from the seller.
2. NAPR certificate on purpose and category before any deposit: 13 GEL (4 days), 26 (1 day), 39 (same day).
3. Fresh extract (online 13 / 52 GEL, service centre 20 / 75; English +26), cadastral plan (7 / 26), restrictions certificate (9 / 18).
4. Check the seller, power of attorney and spousal consent (guide on verifying a property); for an inherited house, whether all heirs are registered.
5. Contract fixing area, utilities and deposit refund; pre-registration (Registry Law, Article 12) blocks other rights to the object.
6. Pay by bank transfer to a party to the contract; signature confirmation costs 7 GEL.
7. Register the title: 150 GEL (4 working days), 270 (1 day), 350 (same day). Ownership arises on registration.

Taxes and the owner's costs

Buying: no transfer tax, only the 150 to 350 GEL fee. Owning: property tax, except on land, is not due if family income last year was up to 100,000 GEL; above it 0.8 to 1% of market value (Articles 206(1)(a), 202(5), law of 30.09.2026). How this applies to a non-resident is not settled.

Land is taxed separately: 0.24 GEL per m² a year for non-agricultural land, with a sakrebulo coefficient up to 1.5 (Article 204(2)); payment by 15 November (Article 205(14)). For 1,000 m²: 240 GEL, up to 360 GEL at the top coefficient (our arithmetic). Article 206(1)(z72) exempts land attached to a residential house within an area set by the sakrebulo: ask the municipality.

Selling: profit on a house with its land is untaxed after more than two years of ownership (Article 82(1)(f.a)), otherwise 5% of the profit (Article 81(3)). The short-term owner's residence permit needs a market value above USD 150,000 set by a certified assessor (Article 15(j); agricultural land excluded): see the residency appraisal guide.

Site visit and questions for the lawyer

For the building itself use the flat inspection guide. For a house add:

• Fence and posts against the cadastral plan; ask to be shown the points.
• Slope above, retaining walls, foundation cracks, traces of water.
• Access in winter and rain, who clears the road; neighbours on boundaries and water.
• Meters, septic tank, well, chimney.

1. What are the plot's category and purpose?
2. Are all buildings registered, with permit and commissioning act?
3. Easements, mortgage, seizure, lease, road access?
4. Do all owners and heirs take part?
5. Does legalisation fit the extension, and does the land-tax relief (Article 206(1)(z72)) apply?

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: NAPR: immovable property registration fees (incl. legalisation, recognition of land title) · NAPR: informational service fees (extract, certificates, cadastral plan) · NAPR, 11.12.2025: completion of systematic land registration · Organic Law on Agricultural Land Ownership No. 4848-II (matsne.gov.ge) · Law No. 4849-II on land purpose and category (matsne.gov.ge) · Law on the Public Registry (matsne.gov.ge) · Law on Legalising Property (matsne.gov.ge, page is not the final consolidated text) · Tax Code of Georgia, Articles 81, 82, 202-206 (matsne.gov.ge, text with the 30.09.2026 amendment) · Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 15(j) (matsne.gov.ge) · Geostat: Residential Property Price Index, Q3 2026 (PDF, 23.10.2026) · Georgia Today, 26.10.2026: Tbilisi prices by district, Q3 2026 (secondary source) · Georgia Today, 27.07.2023: systematic land registration (secondary source) · NEA: Geology Department, services and hazard maps · JAM News, 08.02.2024: landslides and hazard zones (secondary source) · IEA, 2020: Sustainable Bioenergy for Georgia, rural heating (secondary, dated)

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