Policy brief

Municipal Housing Services

in Georgia
Issue #1,  July, 2019, Tbilisi
Anano Tsintsabadze, Vakhtang Natsvlishvili

The new edition of the Constitution of Georgia recog-

For years, homelessness has remained an 
nizes the state's obligation to take care of the citizen's
provision with decent housing.1 The international pact of unrecognized problem in Georgia. The research 
the United Nations concerning economic, social and done under the aegis of the Open Society 
cultural rights, ratified by Georgia, recognizes the right
Foundation revealed that as there are no system­
of decent housing.2
atic conceptions on how to address homeless­
Furthermore, according to the action plan of the Open ness, the municipal housing services are weak 
Government Partnership, the Ministry of Internally
and fragmented. In May 2019, the Open Society 
Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories,
Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia took the Foundation summoned the data from 6 municipal­
obligation to work out a housing policy document and ities concerning the housing services and the 
the action plan of the government in these terms.3 In
citizens' application rate. The given document has 
2019, the Government of Georgia established the
interagency commission that was assigned to elabo- been prepared based on this information. 
rate the holistic view on how to end the problem of
homelessness.4

For years, homelessness has remained an unrecog-

nized problem in Georgia. In 2016-18, the research
done under the aegis of the Open Society Foundation
reveals that due to ecological disasters, armed
conflicts, hard socio-economic conditions, and impru-
dent development projects, thousands of people are
bereft of shelter, while the majority of the citizens live
in inappropriate housing conditions. The Georgian
state still has no systematic conception of how to
address homelessness and eradicate it. The problem
is even more exacerbated by the fact that the state
does not research and produce statistics about home-
less households or those with indecent housing
conditions and their needs.
The Law of Georgia on Social Assistance 6 and the
Local Self-Government Code 7 state that the municipali-
ties are responsible for registration of the homeless
and their provision with shelter.
In May 2019, the Open Society Foundation summoned
the data from 6 municipalities – Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi,
Senaki, Tetritskaro, Rustavi - concerning the housing
services and the citizens' application rate. The analysis of
the provided data reveals that:
Municipal Housing Services are insufficient and they are not
able to ensure the provision of services adjusted to the needs
of the homeless citizens;
Municipal housing services are temporary and do not ensure
the socio-economic enhancement and the sustainable improve-
ment of the homeless persons' conditions;
Each municipality offers dissimilar housing services to the
local citizens and households which consequently imposes
heterogeneous social security to the people living in the
municipalities;

Issue: Housing Policy in Georgia #1 contact@osgf.ge, www.osgf.ge

Municipal Housing Services in Georgia
The majority of the municipalities do not utilize the
legal definition of the homeless which instigates
different practice regarding recognition, registration,
and protection of the homeless persons.
For the improved municipal services, further research
and the state's holistic, systematic conception are
necessary that will be aimed at the eradication of
homelessness and the enhancement of accessibility of
the citizens to housing.
The main goal of the given document is to provide the
Housing Policy Interagency Commission with the
critical analysis concerning current housing services in
some municipalities in Georgia.
1. Insufficiency and1 Impermanence of the
Municipal Housing Services
Based on the analysis of the information provided by
the municipalities it is evident that the current services
are not focused on the goal to sustainably eradicate
homelessness and they are more temporary and
occasional. During the service provision, the municipal-
ity does not study the needs of the homeless and do
not offer the solutions which can ensure that after the
completion of the services they can continue living
independently without further assistance.
The information provided by the municipalities reveals
that the most common method of housing services is
renting the flat for the homeless. Among the
researched municipalities, Rustavi, Gori, Tbilisi, and
Tertitskaro provide the citizens with rental expenses.
The renting practice is impermanent and limited in
duration: In Rustavi and Tbilisi, it is 2 years, while in
Senaki and Tetritskaro it is 1 year. Gori municipality
provides the homeless persons with the monthly rent
of 100 GEL (Georgian Lari). After the completion of the
services, the housing problems of the beneficiaries
remain unsolved.
Similarly to the rental subsidies, the common practice
is to provide the homeless with the temporary or
overnight shelter in the social housing units. The social
housing practice is observed in Tbilisi,8 Kutaisi, Batumi
and Gori municipalities. This practice is limited in
duration. Since the services of improvement of the
beneficiaries conditions and their reintegration is
insufficient or in some municipalities nonexistent,
Issue: Housing Policy in Georgia #1
the duration of the homeless persons' stay in shelters
is unclear; if they leave the social housing units the
homeless persons are again deprived of shelter.
The insufficiency of municipal services is also indicat-
ed by the fact that in most cases, the rent or the social
service for the homeless persons is a one-time
service. For instance, Kutaisi City Hall accommodated
75 families in the social housing units; despite the
increasing demand, Kutaisi government has not yet
delivered any other services. The municipality of
Tetritskaro annually designates 12 thousand GEL for
the rental expenses of no more than 5 homeless
persons.
Since 2018 Batumi municipality has received 250
persons' appeal for housing; similar 199 applications
were made in Rustavi, 196 - in Gori and 130 - in
Kutaisi. Since the Ruling of Registration of the Home-
less Persons came into effect in 2018, approximately
4000 applications have been registered in Tbilisi.
As for the persons registered as the homeless, there
are 30 such people in Senaki, but none in Tetritskaro.
Currently, in Batumi municipality around 100 individu-
als and 100 families are utilizing the housing services;
277 homeless families and 10 individual citizens are
accommodated in social housing units in Kutaisi. The
statistics show that despite already provided services,
the number of applications in the municipalities is
increasing.
2.The Dissimilarity of the Municipal Housing
Services
Since there is no holistic state strategy, the dissimilari-
ty of the services for the homeless becomes a chal-
lenge in different municipalities. In other words, the
service available to the homeless person registered in
one municipality is not available in other municipalities.
Batumi municipality offers the affordable housing
program (so-called Cheap House) to the households
of Georgian citizens registered on its territory. In the
frames of the program, the average income 9 house-
holds are provided with well-furnished flats the cost of
which must be covered gradually during 15 years as
rent. The program is focused on newly married
couples and families with a disabled person, families
bereaved of a sustainer, multiple children families,
single mothers. Besides, Batumi municipality offers
July 2019, Tbilisi
 Municipal Housing Services in Georgia
to cover the expenses for flat maintenance and hous-
ing appliances for the families who are not homeless
but cannot afford the improvement of their housing
conditions. Such services are not available in the
municipalities of Rustavi, Senaki, Tetritskaro, and
Tbilisi.
Gori municipality offers to purchase the mobile contain-
ers and their use as a housing facility for the home-
less. Unlike other municipalities, Gori offers the possi-
bility to provide the families in extreme conditions and
indigent persons with the self-contained living space,
if they meet the existing criteria. Such services are not
available in Senaki and Tetritskaro.10
Tbilisi municipality offers overnight shelters or social
housing units to the citizens with special needs.
Besides, Tbilisi City Hall
1 delivers some so-called
rehabilitation-resocialization services for the persons
accommodated in the social housing units, including
labor and assistance therapy and the actions securing
their integration in the society. However, we have to
note that these additional services are provided only in
case the beneficiary lives in the social housing unit.
3. Different Criteria for Recognition as a
Homeless
There is no agreed and common definition of a home-
less in the municipalities. The Law of Georgia on
Social Assistance considers that a homeless person is
one without a permanent, defined residence place,
who is registered in the local self-government agencies
as a homeless. According to the same law, to be
recognized as a homeless person, it is mandatory that
the local self-government entitles the status of home-
less to the person. However, instead of using the legal
definition, the municipalities use their own criteria to
recognize the homeless.
The information provided by the municipalities reveals
that despite the legal ordinance, Batumi municipality
does not consider itself competent for the recognition
of the homeless. The municipalities of Gori, Senaki,
and Tetritskaro follow their own criteria and offer
services to the persons with relevant needs without
entitling them with the status of the homeless. Tbilisi
and Kutaisi municipalities have their own definition to
entitle the homeless persons with the status.
Issue: Housing Policy in Georgia #1
To be provided with temporary shelter, Rustavi munici-
pality stipulates that a person must have lived in
Rustavi for 15 years, with the fact of registered home-
lessness for not less than 5 years. Similarly harsh
conditions are stipulated for Gori citizens, who can
enjoy the services only if they are recognized as
families living in extreme conditions. Besides, Kutaisi
also stipulates 2 mandatory years of registration to be
provided with the services; Kutaisi City Hall provides
social housing for only the persons with 200 000 or
more points in the Socially Vulnerable Household
Database.
Thus, to have the status of a homeless and/or be
provided with housing services people living in different
regions of Georgia have to meet different criteria.
Conclusion
The housing services in the Georgian municipalities
are dissimilar and impermanent and therefore cannot
ensure thorough protection of the right of dignity and
decent housing. Due to the absence of holistic state
policy, the fragmented housing service is not aimed at
reducing and eradicating homelessness. At best, the
municipalities are determined to slightly mitigate the
harsh conditions of the homeless persons.
In frames of the Open Government Partnership,
Georgian state takes the obligation to elaborate a
strategy and a gradual plan which will be intended to
address the problems causing homelessness and
enhance the socio-economic conditions for the people
with special needs.
July 2019, Tbilisi
Municipal Housing Services in Georgia
References
1. See The Constitution of Georgia, Article 5. (Departments of the Parliament of Georgia, 31-33, 24/08/1995). Available at:
https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/30346?publication=35 [Last visit: 29.07.2019].

2. See The International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 11. Available at: https://matsne.gov.ge/docu-
ment/view/1483577?publication=0 [Last visit: 29.07.2019].

3. See Ordinance of the Government of Georgia N537, 12 November, 2018 about ‘Open Government Georgia 2018-19 action
plan ratification'. [obligation 14] available at: https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/4364776?publication=0 [Last visit:
29.07.2019]

4. See Ordinance of the Government of Georgia N190, 12 April 2019 about ‘Formation of the Government Commission to
Promote the Elaboration of the Housing Policy Document and its Action Plan and Ratification of its Charter'. Available at:
https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/4536598?publication=0 [Last visit: 29.07.2019].

5. See The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC). Homelessness – State Policy Analysis (Tbilisi, 2016); Avail-
able at: https://emc.org.ge/uploads/products/pd-
f/%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%AE%E1%83%9A%E1%83%99%E1%
83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9D%E1%83%91%E1%83%90.pdf [Last visit: 29.07.2019]; The Human Rights Education and
Monitoring Center (EMC). The Right to Decent Housing – Analysis of Major Challenges (Tbilisi, 2018); Available at:
1
https://emc.org.ge/uploads/products/pdf/Housing_GEO_WEB_1542875321.pdf [Last visit: 29.07.2019]; Urban Reactor. Housing
Policy in Georgia Based on the Example of Tbilisi (Tbilisi, 2018). Available at: http://urbanreactor.blogspot.com/2018/12/hous-
ing-policy-in-georgia.html [Last visit: 29.07.2019]

6. See the Law of Georgia on Social Assistance (LHG, 51, 31/12/2006). Available at: https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/docu-
ment/view/23098?publication=12 [Last visit: 29.07.2019]

7. See Organic Law of Georgia Local Self-Government Code (LHG, 1958-II, 19/02/2014). Available at: https://matsne.gov-
.ge/ka/document/view/2244429?publication=41 [Last visit: 29.07.2019]

8. 3 social housing units are functioning in Tbilisi.

9. To participate in the program, the family members must not own any other property or agricultural land and the income
must constitute a minimum double amount of the monthly expenses for the affordable housing. Besides, the whole income
must not exceed 1200 GEL for single-member families, 1800 – for families with two members, 2400 – for families with three
members and 3000 – for families with four or more members.

10. Public Information resources- 1. Letter N 01/12345 from Kutaisi City Hall, 27 May 2019.
2. Letter N 1487 from Tetritskaro Municipality, the Department of Healthcare and Social Security,
Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs, 17 May 2019.
3. Letter N 25/12189 from Batumi Municipality Administration, 10 June 2019.
4. Letter N 02/8455 from Rustavi City Hall, 10 June 2019.
5. Letter N 01/10154 from Gori City Hall, 29 May 2019.
6. Letter N 15-01191431152 from Tbilisi City Hall, the Department of Healthcare and
Social Security, 23 May 2019

Issue: Housing Policy in Georgia #1 www.osgf.ge contact@osgf.ge