How do I get a Council of Ministers decree to buy more than 3,000 m² as a foreigner in Lebanon?

Also asked as: “How to get a decree to buy property in Lebanon as a foreigner” · “Council of Ministers licence for foreign buyers in Lebanon” · “Foreigner buying more than 3,000 m² in Lebanon” · “Law 296 licence to acquire land”

Who needs the decree#

A foreigner, meaning anyone who does not hold Lebanese nationality^[1], can own up to 3,000 m²^[1,2,3] in total without a licence, land and built property together. The limit is a running total, and you, your spouse and your minor children count as one buyer^[1,2]. If your new purchase takes that total past the limit, you need the decree. The basics are in how much land a foreigner can buy without a permit.

A company can need one too, but sources disagree on when a Lebanese company counts as foreign. IDAL says it does when most of its capital is foreign-held, Mattar Law says it does unless all shares are Lebanese-held and its articles forbid transfers to foreigners, and Choueh says one foreign share is enough^[1,7,8]. A company set up outside Lebanon always counts as foreign^[1,7]. IDAL also says a foreigner holding a normal lease right for more than 10 years needs the same decree^[3].

The decree is not always available. Foreign ownership is capped at 3% of each district and 10% of Beirut^[1,2,3], and once a cap is reached no further licences are granted for purchases from Lebanese sellers. We found no official list of districts at or near their cap. See the 3% and 10% limits.

The clock that starts with the licence#

Once the licence is granted, the sale must be completed and registered at the Land Registry within one year^[1,2,3], or the licence lapses. Ownership passes only when the sale is inscribed at the Land Registry^[9]. A signed contract on its own gives you only a claim against the seller^[2,9].

After registration, land bought to build on must be built within five years, renewable once^[1,2,3]. According to the law firm Bijjani (Legal 500), the land must be used for the purpose stated in the application, and the project must be finished within 5 years, renewable once by the Council of Ministers^[10]. Annahar describes the law as making the right to own lapse if that period is not met^[4]. We found no source on what happens to the property in practice after that. More in licence deadlines after Article 46 was annulled.

What is published about applying, and what is not#

The Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre has a Foreign Ownership Department. It lists a file for a non-Lebanese acquiring property rights, called the "negation of ownership" transaction^[5]. The file asks for:

• a family civil extract less than one year old^[5], authenticated by the relevant embassy in Lebanon;
• your spouse's passport;
• official certificates of the areas you already own in Lebanon;
• an affidavit for each property you are buying;
• a power of attorney if someone else applies for you^[5].

You also sign a pledge before a notary under Articles 15 and 16 of Decree 11614/1969. It states that you own only the areas you declared and names your spouse and minor children, and a false statement is referred to the Public Prosecution^[5]. The page lists a fee of LBP 31,500,000 for the affidavit, plus a receipt of LBP 525,000 each for you, your spouse and each minor child; a Lebanese spouse is not charged unless named in the pledge. You pay by fiscal stamps, or by invoice at the Ministry of Finance cash registers in Beirut governorate or at any bank in Lebanon.

That page is undated. It does not say whether this file is for the licence-free route, the decree route or both, and it gives no processing time^[5]. No source we found says where the decree request is filed (the Ministry of Finance or the Land Registry), which extra documents it needs, how long the Council takes, or whether you need a lawyer. Put these questions to the Foreign Ownership Department directly. Because the outcome is discretionary and the deadlines are strict, a Lebanese property lawyer is the sensible person to prepare the file.