Apartment rental agreement in Batumi: deposit, inventory and move-out

A rental agreement in Batumi really matters to an owner at two moments: when the tenant stops paying and when the tenant moves out. So we write the lease with the move-out in mind: which amounts can be deducted from the deposit (also called a security deposit), who calculates them and on the basis of which documents. Finding a tenant is described separately, on the page about finding and screening tenants, and this page is about the paperwork and the money.

What goes into the rental agreement

We adapt every lease to the apartment and the tenant and draw it up in English, Georgian or Russian, or in two columns if the parties speak different languages. The main clauses and what they protect you from:

The deposit: where it is held and what is deducted from it

The tenant pays the deposit on the day of signing, usually together with the first month's rent. On the market, the deposit and the advance payment together come to between 100% and 200% of the monthly rent, but that is a guide, not a rule: you choose the amount, and it goes into the lease. We went through how to choose it on the page about managed long-term rental.

The lease decides where the deposit is held: in your account, or with us if the apartment is under our management. It is returned in the same currency it was paid in. We advise against counting it towards the last month's rent, because then there is no money left at move-out for the final bills.

We make the list of deductions a closed one, with no line for "other expenses":

• rent for days lived in and not paid for;
• unpaid electricity, gas, water, internet and building service charges on the move-out date;
• repair or replacement of an inventory item damaged beyond normal wear and tear, according to an estimate;
• lost keys, access cards and remotes;
• cleaning, if the apartment is handed back dirtier than recorded in the move-in form.

Wear and tear is not deducted from the deposit, and the lease itself gives examples of what we count as wear and tear and what as damage.

The inventory and the handover form

We draw up the inventory on the day of move-in or the day before, and the tenant walks through the apartment with us. Every item gets a number, and the same number is in the name of the photo file, so a year later the line "7. Corner sofa, grey" leads you straight to the picture. If we prepare the apartment before move-in, the inventory starts as early as the stage of preparing it for rent.

We photograph defects close up, next to a tape measure, so that the size of a scratch or chip is clear. We photograph the meters so that both the reading and the meter number can be read in the picture. We count the keys, the entrance and lift cards, and the remotes for the air conditioners and the gate. A dated video walkthrough adds to the photos but doesn't replace them: it is hard to find a particular scratch in a video.

We give the tenant a few days to add to the form anything that wasn't obvious on the first day, such as a weak hob burner or a leaking sink trap. After that the form counts as complete, and at move-out both sides rely on it.

Signing remotely and the documents

The owner often lives abroad, and the tenant is often moving from another country. In that case the lease is signed remotely, in a way the parties choose in advance and write into the lease itself. The tenant transfers the deposit and the first payment to the account named in the lease, and if they pay in person, the manager gives them a receipt.

The signed lease, the form, the photos and the video are kept in a shared folder that both you and we can open, and the tenant gets their own copies. In Georgia personal data is processed under the 2023 Law on Personal Data Protection, and only the tenant's name, their ID document details and a contact go into the lease.

The lease also matters for tax. Under the rules for 2026, the 5% rate on residential rental income applies if you register as a landlord with the Revenue Service, and we put the lease with the tenant into the set of documents for that registration. We check the exact list with a tax adviser, and according to consultants you need to register before the first rent comes in. There is more about this on the page about tax on rental income.

Renewal, changes and early move-out

Anything that changes during the tenancy is put into a supplementary agreement: new rent on renewal, a new term, a second occupant, a pet, new appliances in the inventory. A verbal agreement on new rent isn't enough, because a dispute at move-out will go by the text of the lease.

We set out early move-out for both sides: how many days' notice the tenant gives, how many the owner gives, and how much of the deposit is returned in each case. If a winter tenant has to vacate the apartment before the season, the lease states not only the date but also a charge for every day beyond it. Then a late move-out becomes a matter of money rather than persuasion.

The tenant moves out: checking against the inventory and settling the deposit

We schedule the move-out in the daytime, when the light is good. We go through the apartment line by line against the inventory, compare it with the move-in photos, take the meter readings and collect the keys.

The bills for the last month arrive after the tenant has left, so we close the deposit in full once the last bill has been paid. It works better to return most of it straight after the check and hold back an amount that will comfortably cover those bills. The deadline and procedure for the return are in the lease. The tenant receives the settlement in writing: every amount deducted, with a reference to the clause of the lease, a photo, and an estimate or an invoice.

If the tenant disagrees with the settlement, we first go through the dispute using the form and the photos. If no agreement can be reached, we decide the next steps with you and our partner lawyer. We don't promise to recover damage beyond the deposit, and for large risks such as flooding the neighbours below, it is worth considering insurance for a rented-out apartment.

How much an apartment rental agreement costs in Batumi

A lease with a handover form and inventory costs from 240 to 360 ₾. The price covers payment, deposit and move-out terms tailored to the specific tenant, the form with the inventory and photos, and the meter readings. The deposit is paid by the tenant, is held as the lease sets out and is not part of our price.

Taking back the apartment when the tenant moves out, with the inventory check, meter readings and deposit settlement, costs 170–240 ₾ per visit, and a lease extension or supplementary agreement costs 120–180 ₾. Tenant checks, finding a tenant and rental management are priced separately, and their prices are in the table.

It costs more for a large apartment with expensive appliances and furniture, where the inventory is long, for a lease in two columns and for remote signing. It costs less for a small apartment that already has an inventory from the previous tenancy, which only needs updating. The final price is set after we have seen the apartment and agreed the terms of the lease.