There Is No Register of Amkhanagobas in Georgia: What It Means

If you searched for the register of amkhanagobas in Georgia: there isn't one. Georgia does not register an amkhanagoba (the owners' association of an apartment building) as an entity at all. The law deems one to exist in every apartment building on a single land plot with more than two individually owned apartments. That one fact answers most of the questions that start with "where do we register".

The statute is the Law of Georgia on Homeowners' Associations (No. 5277, adopted 11 July 2007, in force since 1 August 2007), last amended in July 2020. There is no other national law on managing apartment buildings, so what follows rests on this one act.

Not a legal person, but it can sign

Art. 14(1) states that an amkhanagoba is not a legal person. That sentence is often read as "it cannot be a party to a contract", and that reading is wrong. The same article, and art. 18, give it separate property, the right to hold bank accounts, to acquire rights and obligations in its own name, to enter into agreements with third parties, to acquire movable and immovable property and to use a bank credit. In legal relations it is represented by its chairperson or another authorised person, and its name carries the abbreviation «ბმა» in front (art. 17).

In practice, whoever supplies services to the building can contract with the amkhanagoba, with a hired manager, or with the developer, whichever the building has chosen.

How to start one, step by step

There is no filing, so "starting" means organizing the owners. Only the steps the law itself describes:

1. Check whether the building already qualifies. One land plot and more than two individually owned apartments: the association is deemed established (art. 11(1)). Municipal consent is needed only for the two non-default shapes, an association for a single entrance or one across adjacent plots (arts. 11(2)-(3), 29(2)).
2. Decide whether to adopt a charter. It is optional (art. 23(1)). If you adopt one, it needs three quarters of the votes where there are 12 members or fewer, and two thirds in all other cases (art. 23(2)).
3. Elect a chairperson. Two thirds of the members' votes, for a fixed term. Any member can be elected, or a hired manager (art. 26(3)-(4)).
4. Give it a name and a bank account. The name takes the «ბმა» prefix (art. 17), and the association may hold operating and other bank accounts (art. 14(1)).
5. Record decisions in minutes (ოქმი). The minutes are drawn up and signed by the chair of the meeting (art. 28(7)).
6. Ask your municipality about its listing, if you want to be eligible for local support programs (see below).

The act itself sets no fee, no filing deadline and no registrar for any of this.

The one "list" that does exist: the municipal listing

Municipalities may help form associations, including by keeping a record of them (art. 29(1)(c)). The wording is "may", not "must", and matsne's English renders the Georgian word for recording («აღრიცხვა») as "registration", which is looser than the original.

Rules differ by municipality. Batumi, for example, adopted a rule in 2020 under which the chairperson applies, as a rule through the electronic portal amkhanagoba.batumi.ge, with notarised minutes, a notarised charter, the full list of members and, where a hired manager is elected, the contract with that manager. That is the original 2020 text: its current consolidated version is paywalled and two later amendments were not read, so treat it as an illustration of the mechanism, not as today's checklist. Programmes are set per municipality; there is no single national scheme.

The default rules, if you have no charter

Art. 28 applies only where members have not adopted a charter:

• The meeting is quorate when two thirds of the members attend.
• If it is not, the chairperson convenes it again with the same agenda, and that meeting is valid whatever the turnout.
• Each owner has one vote; an owner of several apartments has as many votes as apartments.
• Decisions pass on more than half of the votes of those present, unless the law says otherwise, and bind every member, including those who did not vote.
• The chairperson convenes at least once a year and notifies members in writing (art. 27).

Some decisions need more. Material development of the common property needs unanimity (art. 10(1)), and extra development levies need two thirds (art. 15(2)).

Dues and arrears

Unless the charter says otherwise, each owner's share of common costs follows their share of the common property (art. 5(6)), which is set by floor area (art. 5(3)). Not using your apartment, or not using the common property, does not exempt you from costs (art. 21(2)).

On collection, Georgian law has one strong lever: art. 14(5)-(6), described in the FAQ below, lets the chairperson (with the members' meeting's agreement) or another authorised person register a debt over GEL 500 against the apartment, and makes the new owner liable after a sale.

What Unitify does

Unitify does not register or found anything; it runs the billing and communication side once the building is organized. For an amkhanagoba, a hired manager or a developer in Georgia, that means a clear monthly statement per apartment, reminders before the due date, an automatic follow-up on arrears, and a status view the chairperson can see. Residents in Georgia already pay building fees through TBC and Bank of Georgia, and Flitt is live for card payments. At Ande Tower in Batumi, collectability went from 40% to 80% in six months.

See Unitify for Georgia and billing, or book a demo.

Sources: Law of Georgia on Homeowners' Associations, No. 5277 of 11.07.2007, consolidated text at matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/19798, arts. 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 23, 26-29; Batumi Municipal Council Decree No. 30 of 30.06.2020, original text, matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/4909485. Checked 8 September 2026; recheck before relying on it after 2026.