Real estate shake-up: land cadastre introduced in Abkhazia

Property ownership in Abkhazia

From 1 October, Abkhazia has launched a land cadastre, which experts are calling a turning point for the region’s real estate market. From now on, all property and land transactions must be registered with the Cadastre Chamber.

The absence of a unified cadastral system had long created problems for landowners, investors and property buyers, as there was no clear or comprehensive information about plots. Land itself cannot be sold in Abkhazia under the Constitution and the Land Code, which also affects how property rights are formalised.

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“When property boundaries were originally informal — marked by a tree or a crooked fence — people had a rough idea of where their land ended. But today, with the growth of the economy and rising land values, even the smallest plots can spark serious disputes and conflicts.

That’s why having a clear, unambiguous and guaranteed boundary will certainly ease the problem in the future. But, inevitably, during the registration process there will be disputes, conflicts and all sorts of arguments over where one plot ends and another begins,” said lawyer Oleg Papaskiri.

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The new cadastral system will be updated in stages. At present, it already contains data on more than 80,000 properties, linked to records from the Bureau of Technical Inventory, local architecture departments and the privatisation committee.

From its official launch, all new property and land transactions will be entered into the cadastre. Once the system is fully operational, a complete inventory of all real estate in the republic will follow.

Experts say the introduction of the cadastre will benefit everyone:

• the state, which will have clear records of who owns what and at what value;
• property owners, who gain stronger guarantees of ownership rights;
• buyers, whose transactions will be backed by legal certainty;
• and the real estate market itself, which is expected to become more transparent as a result.

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Property ownership in Abkhazia