Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has announced a voluntary compensation programme offering internally displaced people (IDPs) ₾10,000 ($3,800) per family member as an alternative to receiving state-provided housing.
As of 2025, Georgia had 96,313 registered internally displaced households, comprising a total of 300,549 people. The housing crisis facing IDPs dates back to the wars that forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Following the 1992–1993 war in Abkhazia, displaced people settled across Georgia, many of them in buildings that had not been intended for permanent accommodation.
Speaking at a briefing at the government administration on Monday, Kobakhidze said the programme would be available to internally displaced families that had not previously received housing or equivalent financial compensation from the state.
The government will allocate ₾58 million ($22 million) to the programme this year, with funding expected to increase in subsequent years. Applications will be processed in the order they are submitted.
Families that choose not to receive the compensation will remain eligible for the government’s existing housing initiatives, including the construction of residential buildings and the ‘House in the Village’ programme.
Kobakhidze said that more than 45,000 internally displaced families had received new housing since 2012. He added that nearly 2,000 families had purchased houses in rural areas with state support this year, while another 2,600 families were expected to receive apartments once ongoing construction projects were completed.
However, he acknowledged that many displaced families were still waiting for permanent accommodation. Kobakhidze estimated that resolving the housing issue through the existing process would take at least another decade, presenting the cash compensation scheme as a way to accelerate resettlement.
The announcement has prompted criticism from some IDPs on social media, who argue that ₾10,000 per person is insufficient to purchase a home.
‘₾10,000 is equivalent to a month and a half of a parliamentarian’s salary. There are three people in my family — what am I supposed to do with ₾30,000?’ Nato Dzindzinadze, an IDP from Abkhazia who has been waiting for housing for more than 30 years, told OC Media.
According to the IDP Agency, since 2013, more than 42,000 displaced families have received housing through various state programmes, based on established eligibility criteria.
Kobakhidze also announced an increase in old-age pensions, saying the government had decided to raise monthly payments for pensioners under the age of 70 by ₾45 ($17), rather than the ₾20 increase prescribed by the pension indexation mechanism.
‘From 1 January, the monthly pension for people under 70 will rise to ₾415 ($160), excluding those living in highland settlements. The increase will add ₾128 million ($48 million) to state budget expenditure’, Kobakhidze said.
He also mentioned that social spending accounted for more than 33% of the state budget.
‘In 2026, more than ₾5 billion ($1.9 billion) was allocated for old-age pensions, while ₾540 million ($200 million) was earmarked for co-financing the funded pension scheme. By comparison, the state allocated ₾1.065 billion ($410 million) for pensions in 2012’, Kobakhidze said.
He argued that social spending had reached the upper limit recommended by international financial institutions, warning that further increases could slow economic growth, fuel inflation, weaken fiscal consolidation, and affect Georgia’s access to international financing.
Kobakhidze added that the government would continue seeking to increase pensions for people under 70 beyond the adjustments required by the indexation mechanism, while remaining within what he described as the limits of fiscal sustainability.
A decades-long wait for housing
The housing crisis facing IDPs began with the wars in Abkhazia in 1992–1993, which forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Many were housed in former schools, factories, hotels, sanatoriums, and other state-owned buildings, while others stayed with relatives, some lived — and still live — in rented accommodation. Most hoped their displacement would be temporary and that they would soon return home.
Instead, some families have spent decades living in collective accommodation, often in difficult conditions and without a clear timeline for permanent housing.
Following the Rose Revolution in 2003, the new government pursued a policy of large-scale privatisation, which affected several buildings occupied by IDPs. In Tbilisi, this included the Iveria Hotel, now the Radisson Blu Iveria; the Adjara Hotel, now the Holiday Inn; and the Samshoblo publishing house, now the Stamba Hotel. The Abkhazia Hotel in Tbilisi and the Medea Hotel in Batumi were also among the buildings affected.
Residents faced pressure to leave as the buildings were prepared for privatisation. IDPs complained that the compensation reportedly offered, around $7,000, was insufficient to buy a new apartment. Some resisted eviction, arguing that they had nowhere else to go.
In some cases, authorities used force to remove residents. Water and electricity were reportedly cut off in buildings where IDPs refused to leave, while police and special forces were deployed during certain evictions.
Mass evictions from state-owned buildings continued until 2010. The treatment of displaced families drew criticism from international organisations, including Amnesty International and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). Amnesty International raised concerns about the methods used to evict IDPs and the failure to ensure adequate alternative accommodation.
How Georgia provides housing to IDPs
Since 2013, the allocation of housing to IDPs has relied on a points-based system intended to assess applicants’ needs and determine their priority. Over the years, the government has introduced several ways of providing permanent accommodation, including constructing apartment buildings, purchasing flats in newly built developments, helping families buy houses in rural areas, and transferring state-owned properties to displaced families.
While these programmes have provided housing to many families, researchers and advocacy groups have continued to raise concerns about the pace of resettlement, shortcomings in the allocation process, and a lack of transparency.
Some researchers estimate that, at the current pace, it could take another 20–30 years to complete the resettlement process.
The issue of eligibility has also changed over time. IDP status has traditionally passed from parents to their children. However, in 2022, parliament adopted a resolution changing the state’s obligations towards children born to displaced families. Under the new arrangement, children born after 2023 are no longer included in the housing allocation process.
For some displaced people, years of waiting for permanent accommodation have led to public protests and desperate acts.
On 27 January 2025, 44-year-old Zamir Kvekveskiri, an IDP from Abkhazia, set himself on fire outside the reception area of the IDP Agency in protest. He died in hospital on 1 February after suffering burns covering 65% of his body.
In January 2022, Zurab Kiria, another IDP from Abkhazia, died after jumping from the roof of an IDP housing building near Tbilisi Sea.
In November 2023, IDPs in Zugdidi launched a hunger strike over their housing situation and unfair apartment allocation. Some participants later sewed their mouths shut in protest.