10,000 lari instead of flat: What Georgia’s government is offering displaced people

Georgia’s housing programme for displaced people

The government is offering displaced families the option of receiving cash instead of housing. The compensation amounts to 10,000 lari (around $3,860) for each eligible family member. These are the terms of a new programme announced by the government formed by the Georgian Dream party.

The authorities hope this mechanism will speed up the process of resettling displaced people. However, experts warn that the sum is unlikely to cover the cost of buying a home. Families who accept the payment will also lose access to further government support.

What is changing?

The new programme gives displaced people an additional option: instead of waiting for the state to buy them a flat or house, they can apply for cash compensation.

Participation is voluntary. The government says it will continue building apartment blocks and running its housing purchase programme in rural areas for those who do not opt for compensation.

The housing programme for displaced people was launched under the Saakashvili administration. According to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, it will continue for at least another ten years.

On 12 October 2026, Kobakhidze announced a new programme for those unwilling to wait for apartment blocks to be built. It offers compensation of 10,000 lari for each family member.

As Irakli Kobakhidze announced, the government has allocated 58 million lari (around $22.4 million) to the programme this year. He estimates that existing resettlement schemes will need at least another ten years to meet the needs of all the families still waiting for housing.

Who is eligible for the payment?

Under the ministerial order, people qualify for compensation if they hold internally displaced person (IDP) status, qualify for long-term housing assistance and have not previously benefited from the relevant government programme.

The agency will verify each family’s composition and check who lives at the address listed in the application. It will pay the compensation no later than 45 calendar days after the application period closes.

A family of four whose members all qualify would therefore receive a total of 40,000 lari. However, simply belonging to the same family does not guarantee eligibility: the authorities must confirm each person’s entitlement separately.

Does eligibility extend to children and descendants?

Internally displaced person (IDP) status does not apply only to people who personally left an occupied territory. A child whose parent holds IDP status can also qualify.

However, obtaining IDP status and applying for state-provided housing are two different things. A child’s IDP status does not automatically mean that the state must provide them with housing.

When allocating housing, the state considers people born before 1 January 2023. Those who were minors on that date count as members of their family when the authorities allocate housing to their parents or other adult relatives. In other words, the state takes children into account when determining the size and other parameters of the family’s accommodation, but they cannot claim a separate flat once they reach adulthood.

As a rule, the state’s obligation to provide housing does not extend to children born on or after 1 January 2023. There is one exception: if an IDP parent or parents die before receiving housing, the child becomes entitled to the accommodation that the state would have provided to their parent or parents.

Why is the programme facing criticism?

One of the main criticisms concerns property prices. Critics question whether families forced to leave their homes can afford to buy another property with the proposed payment, particularly if they have no savings.

The Social Justice Center has issued a statement on the financial compensation scheme for displaced people. The organisation warns that the initiative could leave families without housing or savings facing homelessness and social exclusion.

The Social Justice Center points out that the government has not explained how it calculated the 10,000-lari payment. It also remains unclear whether the authorities based the figure on any property market research. The organisation further stresses that even several tens of thousands of lari — the amount a large family might receive — may not be enough.

The organisation is also seeking clarification on whether families must use the money specifically to buy a home, and what support, if any, they can expect if they cannot afford one.

This question is particularly important because the official order defines the compensation as a form of “long-term resettlement”, implying that the payment comes in exchange for housing. The organisation is urging the authorities to explain the programme’s legal consequences in advance and guarantee continued support for families.

How many families are still waiting for housing?

According to the Public Defender’s report, Georgia had 300,492 internally displaced people and 97,280 displaced families at the end of 2025. Of these, 45,160 families had yet to receive long-term housing. Georgia

In 2025, various programmes resettled 4,636 families. The report continues to highlight delays in construction, insufficient funding for temporary rental accommodation and safety concerns over some residential buildings.

“You can buy a sofa for 10,000 lari, but not a flat”

“You can buy a sofa for 10,000 lari, but not a flat,” Koka Markelia, 26, tells JAMnews. His parents were displaced from Abkhazia.

Koka works as a programmer. He finished school in Zugdidi but could not find a job there, so he stayed in Tbilisi. He has been renting a flat with his parents for more than ten years.

He wants to get married and move out on his own. He says he has a stable job, but under the current rules, the bank will not approve a mortgage.

Everyone in the family works, although his parents are self-employed: his mother works as a nanny, and his father is a mechanic. Only Koka has an official income, so the bank will not grant the family a loan. He says 10,000 lari would not even cover the deposit required for a mortgage. As a result, he will not receive the compensation.

“How much do we pay in rent? If they had offered us a flat with a mortgage, we would already have our own home. What am I supposed to do with these 10,000 lari? What can I buy with that money? I would take it and spend it on little things because I could not do anything meaningful with it. So it is better not to accept the money; otherwise, I would lose the prospect of getting a flat one day,” Koka says.

We checked two popular property websites but could not find a house for 10,000 lari, either in Tbilisi or in the regions.

In Koka Markelia’s home town of Zugdidi, for example, we found just one house listed for 10,000 lari — and it is due for demolition. Even if the Markelia family pooled all its money, it could not buy a house in Zugdidi for 30,000 lari.

“We cannot even buy a house in Zugdidi for that amount. And even if we could, how would we move there? Would we find work? If I worked as a nanny there, I would earn less than a third of what I make now,” says Koka’s mother, Irma.

The government’s initiative has sparked sarcastic jokes online.

“I’m sitting here wondering whether to buy two flats with these 10,000 lari or compete with Coca-Cola,” Gela Khasaia, an activist displaced from Abkhazia who also rents a flat in Tbilisi, wrote on Facebook.

Why is resettlement taking decades?

The government laid the foundations for its long-term housing policy in a national strategy approved in 2007. In 2009, it also adopted an action plan to implement the strategy.

The process got off to a painful start, marked by serious disputes and human rights violations. A 2011 study by Amnesty International documented cases of forced evictions from temporary accommodation in Tbilisi, a lack of proper consultation with residents and difficulties finding sources of income after relocation.

At the time, the authorities offered people displaced from Abkhazia who lived in Tbilisi housing in other regions, prompting widespread protests. The main challenge of relocating to the regions was the loss of income and familiar social networks. Although families received renovated flats, they often found themselves in areas with few job opportunities and limited access to basic services.

Under the Georgian Dream government, the resettlement process has continued through several schemes: providing flats in newly built or renovated buildings, purchasing private houses and formally transferring ownership of homes that displaced people already occupy. According to the Public Defender’s report, 4,636 families received long-term housing in 2025, compared with 2,022 in 2024. Nevertheless, 45,160 families were still waiting for housing at the end of 2025.

The process continues to face construction delays and inadequate housing conditions. The Public Defender’s 2025 report notes that the 300-lari allowance for temporary rent does not cover displaced people’s needs. Concerns also remain over the safety of some buildings that the authorities have already transferred to families.

Georgia’s housing programme for displaced people