Tinatin Kolbaia: Regulatory framework needed for housing prices

There is a need for a regulatory framework in housing prices, Tinatin Kolbaia, First Deputy Head of Georgia"s Spatial and Urban Development Agency (SUDA), stated during the event under the theme From Policy to Impact: Scaling Up Housing Provision held within the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Report informs.

According to Kolbaia, with the support of UN-Habitat, the contours of urban policy have begun to take shape this year: "How were urban planning and housing policies supported by different legislation, municipal or national government programs? Of course, we have contributions to condominiums and certain programs for urban renewal, but this requires real analysis. The construction sector, especially in Tbilisi, holds a high share in the economy and is developing, with many distributed housing units. Therefore, a regulatory framework must definitely be established."

She emphasized that currently there is no price control: "Our region is geopolitically very sensitive, and the war in Ukraine has significantly affected housing prices. Sometimes we feel that rents for certain classes, employers, or students can be extremely high. What is the way forward? We believe that even though there is no specific institution for housing policy, it is part of planning – undoubtedly part of spatial planning. Therefore, with the help of international donors, we are working to develop a national spatial plan concept. We will analyze the main contours, directions, findings, research, and data, and incorporate them into the national spatial plan concept to define the main directions for national urban-housing policy."