Buying Property in Batumi: Opportunities, Risks and the Rules for Foreign Buyers

Batumi is Georgia's main Black Sea city and the coastal market most foreign property buyers look at first. Whatever draws you there, the legal and tax position of a Batumi apartment is the same as one in Tbilisi: Georgian law applies country-wide, and the coast has no separate regime.

This article covers Batumi's position today, the infrastructure planned for the region, and the framework that applies to a purchase — ownership, tax on rent and sale, annual property tax and the residence permit — with the checks that matter most on the coast.

Batumi today#

Batumi sits on Georgia's Black Sea coast as the main city of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. In 2025, 2.7 million international visits were made in Adjara — about a quarter of all international visits to Georgia, second only to Tbilisi (National Statistics Office of Georgia, Inbound Tourism Statistics 2025).

The city has its own international airport. Overland, the four-lane Rikoti Expressway — part of the East–West corridor linking eastern and western Georgia — fully opened on 30 December 2025. It shortens the route over the Rikoti Pass by 8 km and halves travel time on that section (Roads Department of Georgia).

What's planned#

The Batumi–Sarpi road, the westernmost section of the East–West Highway, will connect Batumi to the Turkish border at Sarpi. It is financed by an Asian Development Bank loan and in procurement: the Roads Department of Georgia invited construction bids in November 2025. No completion date has been announced, so treat it as a possible future benefit rather than a reason to pay more today.

Ownership: freehold, on the same terms as a Georgian citizen#

Foreign individuals and companies can own residential and commercial property in Georgia outright. The restriction that does exist concerns agricultural land, which a city apartment or commercial unit does not involve.

Title is registered with the National Agency of Public Registry, and the registry record shows ownership, encumbrances and the property's registered details. Checking that record before you sign — and again before completion — is the foundation of any purchase.

You don't need to be in Georgia to buy. With a notarised, apostilled Power of Attorney, our team carries out the purchase on your behalf: due diligence, the sale-purchase agreement and registration. Government registration charges apply and are paid separately.

Tax on rent and on sale#

Rental income. Residential rent is taxed at 5% of gross rent when you claim no expense deductions against it — whether the tenant is an individual or a company housing someone in the property. Commercial lettings are taxed under the general rules, at 20% of taxable income. How short-term holiday lettings are treated depends on how the activity is organised, so confirm that for your plan before relying on the 5% rate.

Sale. A gain on a residential property owned for more than two years is exempt from personal income tax. Sold within two years, the gain is taxed at 5%.

Annual property tax. Individuals pay no property tax on buildings and apartments when their family's income in the previous year did not exceed GEL 100,000. Above that, the rate is set locally at between 0.8% and 1% of the property's market value (Tax Code Arts. 202(5) and 206(1)(a)). Land is taxed separately.

These are the rates as they apply to the property itself. Whether you also owe tax at home depends on your own tax residence and your home country's rules.

The residence permit: above USD 150,000 at appraised value#

Property in Georgia worth more than USD 150,000, confirmed by a certified valuation, grounds a renewable short-term residence permit for the foreign owner — with the owner's spouse and children able to apply for their own permits on the same basis. The threshold is the same in Batumi as anywhere else in the country. Property worth more than USD 300,000 can instead support a five-year investment residence permit, with a possible indefinite permit later.

The purchase can be completed for you via Power of Attorney. The residence permit has its own steps, including filing while you are in Georgia and requesting the residence card in person; we prepare and file the application under Power of Attorney. See our property residence permit page.

What we check before you buy in Batumi#

Off-plan and developer risk. Much of Batumi's new supply is sold off-plan in large developer-led projects. Before paying, check who owns the land, whether the project holds a valid construction permit, what is registered against the plot, and how the contract handles payment stages, delays and completion. A deposit secures nothing that the contract and the registry don't support.

Title and encumbrances. The registry record should match the seller, the unit and the area you're paying for, with no mortgage or other charge left in place at completion.

Valuation. If the purchase is meant to ground a residence permit, the certified valuation — not the asking price — is what counts against the USD 150,000 threshold.

Rental plan. If you intend to let the property, decide how before you buy: long-term residential letting, short-term letting, or commercial use. Each has different tax treatment and management needs.

Seasonal demand. Holiday demand on the coast is seasonal, so plan a letting strategy that works across the year, not just in summer.

Ownership structure. Owning personally, jointly or through a company changes how rent and sale proceeds are taxed and whether the purchase can ground your residence permit. Settle this before signing, not after.

How we help#

• Purchase via Power of Attorney — due diligence, contract review, signing and registration on your behalf, coordinated with the residence permit where you want one. Property residence permit
• Tax position before you buy — how rent and a later sale will be taxed in Georgia, and how the structure fits your wider position. Tax consultation
• Holding through a company — where a company is the better owner, we form and run it. Georgian LLC

Book a free consultation to check the purchase, the tax position and the residence route before you commit.

Updated 16 October 2026: this article now focuses on the legal and tax framework for buying in Batumi, and the annual property-tax section reflects current law. Earlier versions described tourism awards, hotel brands and development projects.

Read more about Georgian property as a low-tax investment.

Have a specific question about your case? Send us a message.