What a Building-Code Violation Means
Georgia's legal system has no separate "building code" as such — liability for construction-related violations is established by the Code of Administrative Offences and by breaches of permit conditions. This page covers the two principal directions: arbitrary construction and the violation or non-fulfilment of requirements established in the sphere of civil safety. In both cases what lies at stake is a fine whose amount the law names directly — which is precisely why the correct classification of the violation and a properly built defence are decisive.
Administrative Liability for Arbitrary Construction
A citizen's construction of summer garden houses without a duly agreed project, or with deviation from the norms provided by the legislation of Georgia in force at the start of the construction, entails a fine of up to half the minimum amount of labour remuneration. This norm squarely covers situations where the construction exists on paper only partially, or actually proceeds differently than the project envisaged. If you are building such a structure, the question of agreeing the project must be resolved before construction begins — walking it back afterwards already happens within an administrative case.
Liability of Officials
The law separately regulates the conduct of officials: violations by them of the rules of construction of summer garden houses and of the organization and maintenance of collective gardening entail a stricter liability — a fine of up to one minimum amount of labour remuneration. Among these violations the law lists breach of the rules of admission to a gardening association; appropriation of the plot allocated for a collective garden without a development project or in breach of it; granting permission for the construction of summer garden houses without a duly agreed project or with deviation from the norms, and accepting such houses for operation; construction of common-use buildings and structures without an agreed project or in deviation from it; unlawful issuance of building materials, use of vehicles, mechanisms and labour, and the involvement of non-specialized construction organizations in building the association's objects.
Violations of Fire-Safety Requirements
Violations or non-fulfilment of requirements established in the sphere of civil safety are itemized and paired with specific fines. Violation or non-fulfilment of the rules and conditions of fire safety entails a fine of 500 GEL; the same act committed under conditions of a special fire-prevention regime — 1 000 GEL. Violation of the fire-safety requirements established for internal fire water supply, electrical installations, electrotechnical products and primary fire-extinguishing means — 1 000 GEL. Violation of the requirements established in a building for evacuation routes, evacuation and emergency exits, automatic fire extinguishing, fire alarm, public-address during a fire, evacuation management and smoke-protection systems — from 1 000 to 5 000 GEL. A repeated commission by a person already subjected to an administrative penalty under the third or fourth part — from 2 000 to 7 000 GEL.
Information flows and infrastructure are regulated separately. A manufacturer's (supplier's) failure to enter into the relevant technical documentation of a substance, material, article or device the information on its fire-hazard indicators or on the acceptable fire-safety measures for its use, where entering such information is mandatory, is a fine of 300 GEL. Violation of the requirements established for approaches to and exits from a building or structure — 1 000 GEL. Violation by a private fire-rescue or private underground search-and-rescue unit of the rules and requirements of fire-extinguishing or rescue activity entails a fine on the unit's owner of 5 000 to 10 000 GEL.
Liability Connected with Emergencies
Violation or non-fulfilment of the requirements for the prevention of and response to an emergency at an object of vital importance is a 1 000 GEL fine; non-fulfilment of the requirements ensuring the readiness of the forces and means for responding to an emergency, or a delayed dispatch into the emergency zone of the forces provided by the approved plans — likewise 1 000 GEL; non-fulfilment of the requirements for protecting the population and material and cultural values during an emergency — 3 000 GEL. Violation by a water-supply licensee or operating organization of the rules for the maintenance of fire hydrants — from 3 000 to 5 000 GEL where it received a written notice of the damage and failed to eliminate it within the reasonable period indicated. Violation of the rules for the protection of human life and safety on water — from 1 000 to 3 000 GEL; obstructing an authorized official of the emergency-management service in exercising powers conferred by law — 1 000 GEL. An important note: where the requirements are violated on several objects owned by one person that are not legal persons, the fine is imposed separately for each object.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sanction applies to a citizen for building a summer garden cottage without a duly approved project?
A fine of up to half the minimal amount of labour remuneration.
And for an official?
Up to one minimal amount of labour remuneration, for the violations listed for officials.
What is the fine for violating fire-safety rules?
500 GEL; under a special fire-prevention regime — 1,000 GEL.
What happens on a repeated violation?
Repetition of an act punishable under part 3 or 4 — a fine of 2,000 to 7,000 GEL.
How We Help on Legal.ge
On the Legal.ge platform you can obtain qualified assistance in administrative matters: verifying the classification of the violation, seeking grounds for reducing or annulling the fine, monitoring due process and filing appeals. A lawyer will examine the protocol, find procedural defects and defend your interests at every instance.