Can heirs sell an inherited property before the estate tax is paid and the property is transferred?

Also asked as: “Can heirs sell before paying inheritance tax in Lebanon?” · “Selling inherited land before the hasr irth” · “Can I buy a property from heirs before it is in their name?” · “Do heirs need a Finance clearance to sell?”

Why the sale has to wait#

Kallas Law Firm reads Article 51 of Legislative Decree 146/1959 as barring notaries and Land Registry officials from drawing up or registering any transaction on an estate until the heirs hold a special authorisation from the Ministry of Finance^[1]. According to Kallas, that authorisation comes only after the inheritance tax (the transfer fee) is paid, or after the heirs give security for twice its maximum amount. We did not read the decree's text itself, so ask the notary to confirm how the office handling your file applies it.

The second lock is the court. Nothing in an estate, real property included, can be transferred into the heirs' names until the Probate Decision (hasr irth) exists^[1,2,3]. Succession, and with it the court, follows the deceased's religious community^[2,3]. See which court issues the hasr irth.

The order things happen in#

The heirs file an estate declaration with the Ministry of Finance within 90 days of the death^[1,6,7], and complete the file within six months of the death^[1,6]. What happens if you file late is covered in inheritance declaration deadlines and penalties. According to Kallas, the licence produced by that declaration is one of the documents the court needs for the Probate Decision^[1,2].

According to Kallas, a Ministry of Finance controller values the estate and serves the valuation on the heirs, who may object^[1]. Annahar reported in April 2025 that a Finance Minister memo lets heirs submit, within the six-month period, a report from a real estate expert accredited by Banque du Liban^[6]. The estate can then be settled without waiting for the tax unit's own valuation. Once the tax is assessed, Kallas says it is due within two months; 1% per month if late^[1,7].

With the clearance in hand, the transfer is made at the Land Registry office of the property's location^[1,3]. The heirs present an enforceable copy of the Probate Decision, the Ministry of Finance clearance, the title deeds and a notarised transfer deed. Per Kallas, new title deeds are then issued in the heirs' names according to their shares^[1], written as fractions of 2,400 shares^[5,8,9]. The sources describe this transfer into the heirs' names. None says whether a sale to a buyer can be registered in the same step, so ask the notary. The full sequence is in transferring inherited property into the heirs' names.

We found no published registry fee, notary fee or timeline for an inheritance transfer^[1,3], and no source gives the cost or the time it takes to obtain the Probate Decision^[1,2,3]. Ask the notary and the court registry for a written estimate before you start.

If you are the buyer#

Until the sale is registered in your name, money you pay buys only a personal claim against the sellers, not ownership^[4,5]. A lawyer can advise how to protect any payment. No source we found covers promises of sale or contract-only sales signed with heirs before the transfer, or whether a buyer can register them later, so ask a lawyer before you sign anything of the kind.

Read a recent Land Registry extract yourself. It shows the owner, mortgages and restrictions on the plot^[4,10]. Ask the heirs for the plot number and real estate district, and for an apartment its section, then check that the same property appears on the extract, the Probate Decision and the Finance clearance, with the same names and shares. To see where the plot actually lies on the ground, ask the Land Registry office which cadastral plan or survey exists for that plot number. Here is how to check a title deed.

If you buy one heir's share rather than the whole property, Kallas says the other co-owners can take your place after the sale is registered, on the same terms^[11]. Kallas puts the deadline for their claim at 10 days after notification, or one year after registration. More in selling a share and the co-owners' rights.