What the Purchase Agreement for Residential Property Means
Acquiring a home in Georgia takes the legal form of a sale contract defined by Articles 477, 478, 490 and 497 of the Civil Code. By a contract of sale the seller is obliged to transfer to the buyer the ownership right in the property, to hand over the documents connected with it, and to deliver the item. The buyer, for their part, must pay the agreed price and accept the purchased property. These interlocking obligations form the legal skeleton of the transaction, and each party's rights at every stage — signing, performance, dispute — flow from them.
Article 477 also provides that, where the price is not directly indicated in the contract, the parties may agree on the means of determining it. The value of a home therefore does not have to be fixed as a concrete sum at signature: the parties may record it by agreed criteria. This matters because the price of an apartment often commits household or investment resources, and ambiguity about the agreed sum becomes the seed of a later dispute.
Core Obligations of the Seller and the Buyer
The seller's obligations comprise transferring the ownership right, handing over the related documents, and delivering the item. In practice the seller does not merely part with physical possession: the seller must also secure the documentary foundation by which the buyer holds and can prove the right against third parties. The duty to hand over documents stands out — without it, the buyer struggles to defend the acquired right.
The buyer's duties are to pay the agreed price and to accept the property. They mirror those of the seller: where a party fails to perform, the other side holds remedies set by other provisions of the Code, and choosing among them requires separate legal analysis.
How the Law Allocates Transaction Costs
Article 478 sets the default allocation of costs connected with the transfer of the sold item: weighing, measuring and packaging costs are borne by the seller, while the costs of receiving and dispatching the goods from the place of conclusion of the contract to another place are borne by the buyer — unless the contract provides otherwise. That reservation is decisive: the parties are free to distribute these costs differently.
In residential deals this rule deserves a deliberate reading: it attaches the technical costs of transfer to the appropriate party. Fees connected with state registration or other mandatory procedures form a separate subject governed by their own rules, and a precise picture of them requires a review of your transaction's terms.
Defective Property and the Seller's Responsibility
Article 490 governs the seller's obligations when the sold item is defective: the seller must either cure the defect or, for a generic item, replace it within the period necessary for the purpose. The seller also bears the costs necessary to cure the defect, including transportation, travel, performance of the work and the materials. The law here protects the buyer: the burden of removing a defect should not fall on the person who has not yet used the property for its intended purpose.
The same norm allows the seller to refuse both curing and replacement where this would demand disproportionately large expenses. Where the seller, in order to cure the defect, hands the buyer a defect-free item, the seller may demand the return of the defective item. These refinements matter in negotiation: each option's availability and cost depend on the property and the evidence of expenses.
Limiting Liability and When Such Clauses Are Void
Article 497 strikes a deliberate balance: the seller's liability for the sale of a defective item may be limited or excluded by the contract, but such an agreement is void where the seller deliberately kept silent about the defect. An 'as is' clause is not impermissible in itself — it simply carries no force against a seller who knew of the defect and concealed it.
Proving deliberate silence is a question of fact: it requires assessing the evidence as a whole and often relying on expert findings. Before signing, an independent inspection of the property's condition is advisable, and the contract should describe known defects and state the liability regime precisely.
შეძენის გარიგება პირველი ნაბიჯია: მას მოსდევს საჯარო რეესტრში გადაფორმება, რომლის ვადებსა და ხარჯებს აღწერს the transfer procedures overview; ბინების ყიდვა-გაყიდვის სრულ მასალას კი იხილეთ the residential apartments section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the seller do under a sale contract?
The seller must transfer to the buyer the ownership right in the property, hand over the related documents and deliver the item. If a defect exists, the seller may additionally be charged with curing or replacing, together with reimbursing the connected costs.
Can the parties agree on how the price will be determined later?
Yes. Where the price is not directly indicated, the parties may agree on the means of determining it. Describe the mechanism precisely, so that no doubt arises about the agreed value.
Who bears the costs connected with the transfer?
Under the default rule, weighing, measuring and packaging costs fall on the seller, while receiving and dispatching costs from the place of conclusion of the contract fall on the buyer. The parties may change this by contract.
When is a clause excluding the seller's liability void?
When the seller deliberately kept silent about the defect. The agreement is void in that case, and the buyer retains the protection connected with the defect, provided the deliberate silence is established.
Can the seller refuse to cure a defect?
The seller may refuse both to cure the defect and to replace the item where this would require disproportionately large expenses. That disproportion depends on the specific transaction, and in a dispute the calculation of costs may prove decisive.
How We Help on Legal.ge
On Legal.ge we support clients through residential purchase questions: we review contract drafts, assess price and cost clauses, plan the position on defects and stand beside you in negotiations. Contact us — we will evaluate your situation and prepare a position grounded in the Code.