Buy or rent an apartment in Batumi: which pays off when you move

Whether to buy or rent an apartment in Batumi depends on two questions: which months you spend here, and what happens to the apartment while you are away. The usual rule of thumb, counting how many years of rent add up to the price of the apartment, works poorly in a resort town, because demand for housing here changes with the season. So we work it out month by month, based on how you spend your year.

Buy or rent an apartment: work it out by the month

If you live here all year round, buying makes sense once you are sure about the district and the building. A wrong choice of district costs an owner more than a tenant. A tenant moves out at the end of the lease, while an owner has to sell, and selling a home you have owned for less than 2 years means paying 5% of the difference between the sale and purchase prices.

If you only come in summer, the sums are different. Most tourists come between July and September, and those are exactly the months when your apartment is occupied by you rather than by guests. The rest of the time it either stands empty or is let by the month. Renting an apartment by the sea for the summer is harder and more expensive than in winter, and it is better to start looking in spring.

Those who spend the winter here have it easiest. Owners of apartments by the sea who let them by the night in summer and by the month in winter are looking for tenants for the cold months in particular.

What to check if you rent

The trap in Batumi rentals is the season. A winter lease on an apartment that is let to tourists in summer ends before the season starts, and you will have to look for a new place when demand is at its peak. If you are staying for a year, raise this before signing and put the term in the contract.

Before you sign, check:

• Who owns the apartment according to the registry extract, and whether the owner signs the lease in person
• Who pays the utility bills and the building service charge
• How large the security deposit is and what it can be kept for
• An inventory of furniture and appliances with photos, so there is no argument about scratches when you move out
• Signs of damp on window reveals, in corners and in wardrobes on external walls, and whether the extractor fans draw air

Tax on rental income is paid by the owner, so as a tenant you don't need to think about it. You can ask us to find an apartment for a long stay and to check the owner and the lease.

The owner's costs after buying

Georgia has no tax on the transfer of ownership and no stamp duty. When you buy, you pay the Public Registry fee, which as of 2026 is 150 to 350 GEL, depending on how quickly you need the registration. If your representative signs under a power of attorney issued abroad, the transaction goes through a notary, and the notary's fee and a translation are added to the registry fee.

Then come the regular costs: utility bills, the building service charge, minor repairs and property tax. Property tax depends on household income. If your household's annual income is up to 100,000 GEL, the apartment is not taxed, and this threshold has applied since autumn 2026. If the income is higher, the municipality sets a rate of up to 1% of market value, the declaration is due by 1 November and payment by 15 November. The rules are the same for foreigners.

If you let the apartment in the months you are away, you pay tax on the rental income. For renting out housing for people to live in, it is 5% of gross income if you have registered as a landlord with the Revenue Service in advance. Without registration, it is 20% of income minus expenses. For short-term letting, we agree the tax regime with a tax adviser.

Residence permit through buying an apartment

A rented apartment gives you no right to a residence permit, but one you own can. The threshold from 1 March 2026: the market value of non-agricultural property must be above 150,000 US dollars according to an accredited valuer's report. A short-term permit is issued for 1 year and renewed every year.

The application includes the registry extract showing your ownership and the valuer's report. The state fee is 300 to 600 GEL, depending on how fast you need a decision: 30, 20 or 10 days. If you are buying the apartment to get the permit, get the valuation first and pay the deposit second: the price in the contract and the valuation don't have to match.

The empty apartment while you are away

An apartment you own in Batumi keeps changing while you are away, and not always for the better. In the damp winter, a closed apartment that nobody airs soon starts to smell of mould, and after a storm a window or a balcony door may leak. Someone has to drop in, air the rooms, switch on the dehumidifier and check that nothing is leaking from upstairs.

There are two ways to handle this. You can keep the apartment for yourself and pay for scheduled check-ups. Or you can put it under rental management and let it in the months when you are away. We don't promise income, but we calculate it month by month down to the net figure, so you can compare buying with renting on your own numbers.