Can a developer legally sell me an apartment in a building with no occupancy permit?

Also asked as: “Can a developer legally sell apartments in a building with no occupancy permit in Lebanon?” · “Buying a flat before the occupancy permit” · “Is it legal to sell off-plan apartments in Lebanon?” · “Can I register an apartment without an occupancy permit?”

What the law says#

Decree 15874/2005 Art. 5 prohibits selling, transferring or disposing of parts of a building that has no final occupancy permit, except units under Law 539/1996^[1]. The same article bars occupying a building more than 3 years after the permit period ends without a final permit. Once the permitted building is complete, external facades included, the owner applies to the competent technical administration for the occupancy permit (رخصة الإشغال)^[2].

Law 646/2004 Art. 7 adds a rule for the registry itself. It bars the Land Registry and survey departments from finally subdividing a building into separate units unless the owner shows an occupancy permit plus electricity and water connection certificates^[2]. Without that subdivision, a flat has no real folio (registry page) of its own. Kallas Law Firm adds that no real right can be registered on a defined part of a plot until that part gets its own folio. Before then, what can be registered is a number of shares in the whole plot^[3].

Provisional and final permits#

A provisional occupancy permit is renewed every year until the building permit expires. It lets the building get temporary water, electricity and phone connections and lets people live in the unit. It is not valid for final subdivision, sale or final registration^[1]. When a developer says "we have the permit", they may mean the provisional one, so ask which. More in provisional versus final occupancy permits.

Flats over 300 m² have their own rule. The building can count as complete for a final permit without interior painting, joinery, sanitary and electrical fittings or kitchen units, as long as the sale contract says so^[1]. See selling a shell apartment over 300 m².

Why flats are offered before completion, and what is not known#

Developers and brokers do advertise flats in unfinished buildings. One OLX listing by Dyarcom Real Estate offers 150 m² flats under construction in Rabieh and says they come with a title deed^[4]. A flat cannot be finally registered without an occupancy permit, so a deed at that stage could only show shares in the plot, not the flat itself^[2].

Three things are not answered by any source we read. Does signing a promise of sale or selling plot shares before the final permit fall under the Decree 15874 ban? Is such a contract void? What penalty does the developer risk? A Lebanese property lawyer can answer, ideally with the contract in front of them. Ask them in writing: "Is this contract a sale of building parts under Decree 15874 Art. 5, and can I enforce it against the developer?"

What protects you before the permit exists#

Until the sale is registered, you hold only a personal right against the seller, not ownership^[5,6]. You can sue to force registration. Until that happens the property stays in the seller's name, and the seller can sell or mortgage it, or the seller's creditors can seize it^[3,7]. Kallas Law Firm says a promise of sale can be provisionally inscribed on the property's folio, which keeps your rank against any later sale or mortgage^[5,8].

That inscription has limits. According to Kallas, an annotation based on an ordinary sale contract or a power of attorney does not transfer ownership. Your right stays personal, with a ten-year limitation, until final registration^[9]. Kallas does not write about off-plan units, so have a lawyer confirm how this works for a flat that has no folio yet. More in is a promise of sale enough for an unbuilt flat.