What happens to old-rent tenants in Lebanon after February 2026?

Also asked as: “Is the old rent law over in Lebanon?” · “Old rent law Lebanon 28 February 2026” · “Can an old-rent tenant be evicted now?” · “Tenants' Support Fund Lebanon”

Who counts as an old-rent tenant#

You are under the old rent law if you rent your home under a lease signed before 23 July 1992^[1,9,10]. Leases signed after that date are free contracts. If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, see whether your lease is old or new, and for newer leases, how a new lease works. This page covers homes only, not shops or offices.

What changed on 28 February 2026#

The 2017 law gave old-rent tenants a final extension of nine years from 28 February 2017^[1,2,3]. Tenants who qualify for help from the Fund, a Ministry of Finance account created by Law 2/2017, get twelve years instead, to 28 February 2029^[1,3,6].

Not everyone counts the end dates the same way. The Metn appeals court and Annahar use 28 February; a landlords' adviser counts to 27 February 2026 and 27 February 2029, and Public Works Studio argues the nine years ended on 2 March 2026^{[1,2,3][1,3,6]}. If you are counting a deadline, a day either way can matter.

The Fund has never come into operation, and the committees meant to decide who qualifies were never formed^[1,6,7,8]. So since February 2026 the question for most tenants has been whether they can still claim the extra time. More on this in whether the Fund is working.

What the courts have said#

On 10 June 2026^[2,4], the Metn rental-disputes appeals chamber upheld an eviction. It held that the nine years ended on 28 February 2026, that the tenant still had to meet the law's deadlines although the Fund is not working, and that Article 58 does not suspend those deadlines. It gave two reasons: the tenant applied to the committee only on 17 February 2026, 11 days before the end, which the court found too late, and there was no proof of a written request to the landlord.

Earlier appeals rulings had favoured tenants: Beirut in 2021, and Mount Lebanon in April 2025, which held that the deadlines could not be counted^[1,5]. The 2026 rulings have all ordered eviction. In March 2026, single judges in Beirut and Zahle differed only on timing: Beirut deferred enforcement by three months, while Zahle ordered immediate eviction. Other courts may still rule differently.

The deadline-suspension law#

In July 2026 Parliament paused legal and contractual deadlines from 1 March to 31 July 2026^[11,12,13]. Whether that helps old-rent tenants is disputed^{[11,12,13,14]}:

• A landlords' adviser says the nine years ended before 1 March, so there was nothing left to pause^{[11,12,13,14]}.
• The head of the Lebanese Real Estate Association says the pause only stops the clock and does not amend or extend the rent law^{[11,12,13,14]}.
• Public Works Studio, a research group, argues the pause may help tenants, and counts the nine years as ending on 2 March 2026, inside the pause^{[11,12,13,14][1,2,3]}.
• A tenants' lawyer argues the war has been force majeure since October 2023, so tenants can again send the written Article 16 request and re-file their Fund applications under Article 8^{[11,12,13,14]}.

We found no court ruling on this point. The arguments are set out in more detail in the 2026 deadline-suspension law.