Can my landlord force me to pay rent in US dollars?

Also asked as: “Can landlord force rent in dollars Lebanon” · “Can I pay my rent in Lebanese lira?” · “Is a lease in fresh dollars legal in Lebanon?” · “Can a landlord refuse Lebanese pounds for rent?”

Two rules that pull in opposite directions#

The first rule protects the lira. Lebanon Law Review, a legal-information publication, wrote in July 2021 that because the lira has full and unlimited discharging power under the Code of Money and Credit, a landlord cannot force a tenant to pay in US dollars or refuse lira. A member of the notary board told Annahar the same in November 2019^[1,2]. The review also cites Art. 319 of the Penal Code, which makes refusing Lebanese currency an offence punishable by 6 months to 3 years in prison^[1] and a fine of LBP 500,000 to 2,000,000. We did not read the Penal Code text itself, the fine is in pre-crisis lira, and we found no case of a landlord prosecuted under it.

The second rule protects freedom of contract. Lebanon Law Review notes that under Art. 301(2) of the Code of Obligations and Contracts the parties may agree that payment will be made in foreign currency, and that a lease is subject to this freedom. Even so, the same article concludes that the tenant may pay in lira, and we found no ruling that reconciles the two rules^[1]. If your lease says "USD" or "fresh dollars", the published sources do not tell you whether that clause binds you.

What happens in practice#

Since 2020, rents in Lebanon have mostly been agreed and paid in fresh dollars, despite the opinions above^[1,2]. One commercial guide, ExpatLife.ai (August 2026), says deposits are typically 2-3 months' rent^[9], paid in USD cash. More on up-front payments in how much deposit and advance rent a landlord can ask.

On the landlord's side, a notary-board member told Annahar in 2019 that a landlord may sue for damages caused by the dollar's rise but cannot change the base rent because of the exchange rate. That was one person's opinion, given before the lira collapsed, and we found no ruling applying it^[2]. Separately, according to one law firm, a landlord may not demand a rent increase before the lease term ends^[6]. See whether your landlord can raise the rent.

There are reports of 2022 Beirut appeals rulings that split between different rates, but we could not open them, so we cannot confirm them^[1,2,3,4,5]. We also found no ruling from 2022 or later on whether a fresh-dollar clause binds the tenant.

If you pay in lira, at which rate?#

No source settles this, and the sources point in different directions^[1,2,3,4,5]. A notary-board member said in 2019 that courts used the Banque du Liban rate of about LBP 1,507 to 1,515, a view now outdated. Lebanon Law Review argued in 2021 that no legal official rate existed, noting the 1,500, platform (3,900) and market (about 18,000) rates. BLOMINVEST Bank, in a July 2025 report, used a new official rate of USD/LBP 89,500 from 1 February 2024, and the Energy Ministry's September 2026 generator tariff used LBP 89,700. For stamp duty only, PwC reports that Ministry of Finance decision 684 of 23 November 2023 converts foreign-currency contracts at the Sayrafa rate.

Since 2024 the official and market rates have been close, so the choice of rate matters far less than it did in 2021^[1,2,3,4,5]. The detail is in which exchange rate applies to rent paid in lira.

Currency also comes up when you register a lease. The Dahye municipalities union says the rent must be written in Lebanese currency. That page is undated and covers one union, and we did not find whether a lease written in USD is refused or converted today^[8]. Ask your municipality, and see how to register a lease at the municipality.