Police detained four residents as tensions flared in Tbilisi’s eastern Samgori district amid attempts by authorities to evict dozens from an apartment block that they claim is unsafe and illegally occupied.
The locals, however, argued that the authorities and pro-government media were spreading false information, fearing that the eviction would leave many of them without a roof over their heads.
Dramatic images from Tbilisi’s Africa neighborhood showed families, including children, sitting outside with their furniture and belongings, surrounded by a heavy police presence. Some residents were seen confronting and arguing with enforcement officers, vowing to protest the eviction. At least one person required medical assistance, while a woman was seen on a rooftop, reportedly vowing to jump.
Three individuals were forcibly placed into a police vehicle, while another woman was escorted away on foot. The Ministry of Interior told Civil.ge that all four were detained on administrative charges of disobeying police orders.
The National Bureau of Enforcement, which carried out the eviction, cited a study by the Samkharauli Bureau – a key public forensics agency – to argue that the building was structurally unsafe. It also said the eviction had been postponed twice in an effort to find a resolution, and that the state had offered temporary rental assistance, though some families declined the offer.
Officials further claimed that only 39 families live in the building permanently, while 53 others who claimed residency did not actually reside there. They alleged that some of these non-residents began renovation work just months ago, “to subsequently claim compensation.”
According to Bureau representatives, the permanent residents include 58 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 29 of whom have already been provided with housing by the state, while the applications of the remaining 29 are still pending, with some already having a positive response. Those without IDP status were offered either compensation or temporary rental assistance, they said.
“Talks are currently underway as well,” Sopio Lokabidze, an official from the Enforcement Bureau, told reporters, adding that “each of the individuals permanently residing here will be provided with some form of housing.”
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze also noted that the building was privately owned and had been illegally occupied by some families after the owner won a legal battle to reclaim the property. He said nine families registered in Tbilisi were offered rental assistance, but only two of them agreed.
Some of the residents, however, disputed those claims, arguing that the building had been abandoned when they moved in three years ago and that the owner never appeared during that time. They claim to have cleaned and renovated the units themselves and maintain that the building is safe.
“Why didn’t the owner show up at any point over these past three years and say, ‘This is my building, leave?’” one resident told reporters.
Others have pointed to the economic hardships faced by those residing in the building or who tried to renovate prior to moving. Locals say hundreds of families have been affected by eviction.
“Absolutely all of those who live here and whom I know, hundreds of families, are socially vulnerable and below the poverty line,” Kristine Narindashvili, one of the affected residents, told the Mautskebeli outlet. She said more than 300 families claimed the apartments, with some already residing there and others still renovating. Many of these families had taken out bank loans, she added, while rising rents have left economically struggling households with no option but to seek shelter in the building.
“The only option was to occupy some premises,” Narindashvili said, noting that the only offers residents received in exchange for leaving the building were limited to covering rent, for a duration that, she suggested, “would last no more than three to five months.”
Some residents were also seen confronting crews from the pro-government Imedi TV and Rustavi 2, accusing them of spreading false narratives about the eviction.
“Show me a person who offered these residents rooms in which they would live and no one would let them out,” one resident argued with journalists. “You spread false information,” another resident shouted as police escorted the crews from the scene.
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