Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has announced the launch of a new municipal program aimed at purchasing structurally damaged residential buildings located within the capital’s cultural heritage protection zone.
Speaking at a municipal government meeting, Kaladze said the initiative is designed to provide residents of severely deteriorated buildings with an alternative solution, allowing them to make an independent decision rather than waiting for private investors to initiate redevelopment.
“A new program for the purchase of crumbling residential buildings in the cultural heritage protection zone has been enacted with certain conditions,” the Mayor stated.
City Hall says buildings will qualify for inclusion in the program under the following criteria:
The structural condition of the residential building must be classified as Category IV or V — the highest risk categories indicating significant structural deterioration or collapse risk.
All property owners within the building must provide unanimous consent for the buyout.
Demolition of the structure must not pose a threat to adjacent buildings.
Kaladze noted that if demolition creates potential risks for neighboring properties, Tbilisi City Hall will also involve owners of adjacent land plots in the program under the same terms.
Tbilisi has faced persistent challenges with aging housing stock, particularly in its historic districts, where many residential buildings date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While these areas fall within cultural heritage protection zones and are subject to strict preservation regulations, decades of structural neglect, informal alterations, and insufficient maintenance have left numerous buildings in hazardous condition.
The issue of so-called “crumbling houses” has been a recurring topic in municipal policy, as authorities attempt to balance architectural preservation with public safety and urban development.
Kaladze emphasized that existing rehabilitation and replacement programs for deteriorated housing are already underway across the capital, with dozens of projects currently in progress. The newly announced initiative expands these efforts specifically within heritage protection zones, where redevelopment processes are often more complex due to conservation requirements.
The Mayor framed the new program as a mechanism to empower residents, stating that homeowners will no longer be required to rely solely on private developers to initiate restoration or reconstruction projects.
Municipal authorities are expected to release further procedural details regarding valuation, compensation mechanisms, and redevelopment planning in the coming weeks.
Image source: Prime Time
