How can I check that a property developer in Lebanon is reliable before I pay a deposit?

Also asked as: “How can I check a property developer in Lebanon before paying a deposit?” · “Is my developer in Lebanon trustworthy?” · “How to verify a real estate developer in Lebanon” · “Checks before paying an off-plan deposit in Lebanon”

There is no developer register, so check the project#

We found no licence, register or official rating for property developers in Lebanon. We also found no public source for a developer's past stalled projects or court cases. What you can check is on paper: the plot the building stands on, the company that sells to you, and the building permit.

This matters because a sale that is not registered gives you only a personal claim against the seller, without ownership^[2,3]. According to Libnanews (August 2026), the 2018 bankruptcy of the developer Sayfco left about 600 buyers exposed, because bank mortgages on the projects blocked delivery of their titles^[8].

The plot: what the Land Registry extract shows#

An off-plan flat has no title of its own yet. Each unit gets its own folio only once the building is divided into units^[9], and the Land Registry will not finally divide a building until the owner shows an occupancy permit^[1]. Until then, the record you can check is the plot's (see Is buying off-plan in Lebanon safe today?). The register is kept by property, under its number, and not by owner^[10]. More in how to check that the seller owns the land and has a permit.

An official extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) lists the owners and their shares. It also lists mortgages, pledges, seizures, other charges and pending court actions^[6,7]. Every charge on the folio passes to a buyer unless it is cleared before the purchase^[2]. A notice of a lawsuit is entered only by decision of the president of the competent civil court^[10], so a dispute that has not reached that stage will not show.

A building violation is recorded on the folio only when the municipality or the technical administration asks for it^[1]. A clean extract therefore does not prove that the building has no violations.

OMT outlets can show you an unofficial copy of the title register^[5,11]. For any transaction you need the official certificate from the Land Registry^[5,6,7,11]. Legalmondo (June 2025) says certificates are public and anyone may request one without showing a legal interest, so you do not need the developer's permission. It also says no certificate is issued while a lien or registration on the plot is still in process^[6]. If the office will not issue one, ask why before you pay anything. See how to get a Land Registry extract and what it costs.

The company: who owns it and who can sign#

Kallas Law Firm describes a two-step company search. A general search lists the company shares held under a person's name, and an individual company certificate then shows the shareholders, the management, the type of business and the registered offices^[7]. Use it for three checks: the company named in your contract is the company on the certificate; that company is the owner on the plot's extract; and the person signing is among the managers the certificate shows. Kallas does not name the office or the fees, so ask a lawyer in Lebanon to run the search for you.

The registry can also be searched by an individual's name, using full name, birth year and mother's name^[7,12]. Kallas puts this at about 10 days^[7]. A lawyer can run it on the people behind the company. No source says who may request a name search or through which office, so ask the lawyer.

No source gives a way to check a developer's track record. One thing you can do is ask the developer for the plot numbers of buildings it finished before and order their extracts. In a building that has been divided, each unit has its own folio^[9], so the extract for each unit shows who owns it now and any mortgage on it^[6,7]. This is our suggestion, and it is not an official track-record check.

The permit, the contract and your deposit#

Any new building needs a prior permit, with plans signed by a responsible engineer and registered with the Order of Engineers in Beirut or Tripoli^[1]. A permit is valid for six years, renewable once for two years. We found no published way to verify a permit number. Ask the municipality that issued it to confirm the permit in writing, and have an engineer compare it with what is being built. More in how to check a building permit and occupancy permit.

Kallas Law Firm advises also checking the municipal master plan for the plot^[13]. No source names the office for this, so ask the municipality.

Decree 15874/2005 prohibits selling parts of a building that has no final occupancy permit, with an exception for units under Law 539/1996^[14]. We could not confirm whether this reaches a promise of sale on an unbuilt flat, so ask a lawyer.

A promise of sale can be provisionally inscribed on the plot's folio, which keeps your rank against any later sale or mortgage^[2,15]. Provisional inscriptions expire after set periods that depend on how they were made^[10], so ask the lawyer how long yours will last and what keeps it in force. Kallas also says an annotation entered on the strength of an ordinary sale contract or a power of attorney does not transfer ownership. The right stays personal and subject to a ten-year limitation until final registration^[16]. Kallas does not discuss off-plan units, so ask a lawyer how this applies to yours. See whether a promise of sale protects you on an unbuilt flat.

Kallas says a seller who sells the same property twice commits fraud under the Penal Code^[17]. Between two buyers, the one entered first in the registry's daily journal ranks first^[10]. Fraud also covers making someone believe in a fictitious project. Kallas's list does not say that a stalled project is fraud in itself; whether a developer's conduct is fraud is for the prosecutor and the courts. If your project stalls, see what you can do when a developer stops building.