Facing Eviction — the Sources of Your Protection
If a landlord is threatening you with eviction, the first thing to understand is that Georgian law protects the tenant of a dwelling with substantial guarantees. Eviction is not a matter of the landlord’s discretion: it requires a ground, a form and a procedure. Arbitrary eviction — changing the locks, restricting access to the premises or using force — is unlawful, and against such actions the tenant has the full range of protective remedies.
This page sets out the norms that protect a tenant in a dwelling: the requirement of a weighty cause for termination, the continuity of the family’s position after the tenant’s death, the consequences of a sale of the property, and — the broadest guarantee of all — the tenant’s right to defend their possession against every violator, including the owner.
The Weighty-Cause Barrier
Article 562 of the Civil Code is the central protective norm: a lease of a dwelling may be terminated by the landlord only where weighty reasons exist. Whatever the contractual term, early termination is unavailable to the landlord without such a reason — the protection is built into the statute, not into the bargain.
The Code specifies when a reason is weighty: the tenant culpably and significantly breached their contractual obligations; the landlord needs the dwelling for themselves or for close relatives; the tenant refuses to pay the increased rent proposed by the landlord which corresponds to the market rent for the apartment; or the tenant committed such an unlawful or immoral act against the landlord that continuing the relationship becomes impossible. The burden of proving any of these lies on the landlord. One exception narrows the protection: where the leased object is an apartment furnished with furniture, the landlord may always terminate observing the notice period.
Non-Payment — the Three-Month Threshold
The most common ground invoked against tenants is rent arrears, but Article 558 of the Civil Code sets a clear threshold: the landlord may terminate the agreement before its term only where the tenant has not paid the rent for three months. Arrears of shorter duration do not create a right to terminate, and in a dwelling case the landlord must still show that the non-payment amounts to a weighty cause.
If you are in arrears, the strongest move is to cure them — pay the debt or agree a written schedule — before the three-month threshold is crossed and relied upon. Doing so removes the factual basis of the termination and leaves the landlord to prove a weighty cause without the easiest evidence. Keep proof of every payment and of any communication about the schedule; in eviction litigation, the tenant’s file usually decides the case.
Family Continuity and Sale of the Property
The protection extends beyond the individual tenant. Where a lease of a dwelling is concluded and the tenant runs a joint household there with their family members, then on the tenant’s death the family members enter into the legal relationship with the landlord, and they have the right to terminate the lease within the period established by law. The family’s home does not dissolve with the tenant’s death, and any eviction attempt against the family must go through the same weighty-cause route.
A second guarantee concerns a sale. Where the landlord alienates the leased property to a third person, the acquirer steps into the landlord’s position: the rights and obligations arising from the lease relationship pass to the purchaser. A new owner cannot simply disown the tenancy — they may terminate it only on the same statutory grounds as the predecessor. For tenants, this means a change of ownership is never, by itself, a reason to leave.
Possession Defended Even Against the Owner
The broadest protection is stated in Article 575 of the Civil Code: the tenant has the right to defend their possession against every violator, including the owner. This norm gives the tenant a standing that does not depend on title — the owner’s assertion of ownership does not defeat the tenant’s possession while the lease relationship lawfully continues.
In practical terms, self-help against the tenant — entering the premises, removing belongings, cutting access — is a violation of possession and can be met with protective claims, including in court. If you are facing such actions, document everything: dates, witnesses, photographs, medical records where relevant. The stronger your file of the violation, the faster the protective remedy works.
Leaving Early — on Your Own Initiative
If you yourself wish to leave before the term, Article 555 of the Civil Code provides the lawful route: a tenant of a dwelling may terminate the lease before its term where they warn the landlord one month in advance and offer the landlord a solvent and acceptable replacement tenant who agrees to be the tenant for the remaining term of the lease.
Meeting both conditions — timely warning and a suitable replacement — is what releases you from the obligation to pay rent for the remainder of the term. If no acceptable replacement is offered, the rent remains due until the relationship ends. Planning the exit around this norm, rather than around an informal arrangement, is what protects you from a claim for the full remaining rent.
How We Help
Eviction defense begins with a precise legal assessment of the situation: does the landlord’s reason meet the weighty-cause standard, was the written form observed, is the arrears claim actually above the three-month threshold? We review your agreement, prepare the response to the eviction threat, defend your possession against self-help, and represent you in court where necessary. Contact us — defense is most effective when it starts early.