Failed reform: why Abkhazia’s new cadastral law isn’t working
Cadastral law in Abkhazia
On 1 October, Abkhazia’s “Real Estate Cadastre” law came into force, quickly dubbed a “revolution in property turnover,” and the Cadastral Chamber began operations. Yet, it has not completed a single transaction.
The law, which seemed perfect on paper, has proven ineffective in practice.
On the very first day, it became clear that registering transactions in the cadastre was impossible due to technical issues. An emergency parliamentary session was convened to hear the Cadastral Chamber’s leadership and investigate the reasons behind the collapse.
The “Real Estate Cadastre” law was passed in December 2024 but was scheduled to come into force in October 2025. During this period, the government was obliged to align all related regulations with the new law.
In May 2025, following proposals submitted by the executive branch, several amendments were made to the law, seemingly closing all gaps.
“But, as we suspected, 1 October arrived, and the issues largely remain the same,” stated Parliament Speaker Lasha Ashuba at the emergency session.
The head of the Cadastral Chamber, Temur Sangulia, said the main problem lies in the “complexity of interaction with district Technical Inventory Bureaus (BTI).” According to him, BTI staff are effectively sabotaging their work.
Sangulia also claims that 40% of Abkhazia’s population has no property documents at all, while 25% have incorrectly prepared documents, which complicates and delays processes.
Finally, there is a catastrophic shortage of personnel.
Based on this, Sangulia suggests suspending the law in some districts of the republic where the necessary technical conditions are not yet in place, until 1 January 2026.
However, most deputies rejected this option. They believe the law should apply simultaneously across all districts.
Further consideration of the issue is scheduled for one of the upcoming parliamentary session meetings.
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Cadastral law in Abkhazia
