The Essence of the Occupancy Institution
The acceptance of a building into exploitation is the legal fact that completes the construction process: once the object is recognised as fit, its lawful use for its designated purpose becomes possible. Article 139 of the Code of Georgia on Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activity regulates this process according to the classes of buildings: a class I building is not subject to recognition as fit for acceptance into exploitation, while the rules for the acceptance into exploitation of buildings of classes II, III and IV are determined by a legal act of the Government of Georgia. This means that the concrete administrative procedure — which organ issues the act, which documentation it requires and in what format the inspection takes place — is established by the government's act, and its precise knowledge is needed both by the developer and by the future purchaser of the building.
The Prohibition on Operating a Non-Accepted Building
Article 139-1 of the Code gives this institution real force. First: the functioning of a building before the issuance, in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia, of the relevant act on its acceptance into exploitation is inadmissible. Second: the supply of electricity and natural gas to a building not accepted into exploitation is inadmissible — the law thus employs a utility blockade as well as administrative liability. This restriction has an exception: it does not extend to the supply of electricity and natural gas to a non-accepted building for construction activity, which must not exceed the validity period of the relevant construction permit. Questions connected with supply for construction activity are regulated by a normative act of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission. This construction speaks clearly: the law treats acceptance into exploitation not as a formality but as a guarantee of public safety, since a building whose fitness has not been confirmed is risky for its users.