What deposit and payment plan is normal for an off-plan apartment in Lebanon, and in which currency?

Key facts#

Typical deposit

Not published by any Lebanese source we found

One advertised plan (Rabieh, broker ad, undated)

down payment + monthly or 3-4 construction-stage payments; instalments to June/December 2026^[1]

Asking prices in that ad

USD 240,000 to 290,000 for 150 m²^[1]

Bank mortgages

Not being written, according to press reports in autumn 2026^[2,3]

Currency

Mostly USD, in cash or by transfer, according to one broker (2025)^[6,7]

Fee when a surveyed sale contract is drawn up

2% within 15 days of the contract^[8,9] plus the municipal fee, as an advance on the transfer fee (Law 64/2017; whether still collected this way after Law 10/2022 is unconfirmed, so ask the notary)

When you become the owner

Only on registration at the Land Registry^[4]

How to agree a payment plan safely#

1. 1
   Get an official Land Registry extract for the plot. You or your representative ask for it at the Land Registry office that covers the plot. Give the office the governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[19,20], the last two where they apply. Legalmondo (June 2025) says the official certificate is issued only in person and costs USD 5, though the fee may be collected in LBP^[20]. Copies obtained online or through OMT are unofficial^{[19,20,21,22]}. Your flat has no unit number of its own yet, because units get their own folio only once the building is divided^[23].
2. 2
   Read the charges on the extract. According to Kallas Law Firm, any mortgage or seizure on the folio carries over to the buyer unless it is cleared first^[4]. Check that the seller named in your contract is the registered owner, as explained in checking that the seller owns the land. No source we found describes how to get the cadastral plan for a plot or what it costs. Ask the Land Registry or Cadastre office, or a licensed surveyor, how to obtain the plan and to show you the plot's boundaries on the ground.
3. 3
   Check who stands behind the company. Kallas Law Firm (October 2025) says a general commercial search, which takes about a week, lists the companies a person holds shares in. An individual company certificate, about 2 business days, then shows the shareholders and management^[22]. The source does not name the office or the fee. The commercial register is the likely office, but ask your lawyer to request the certificates for you. More in how to check a developer.
4. 4
   Get the schedule in writing. Ask the developer to set out the deposit, each instalment, what triggers it (a date or a stage of building), the currency, the method (cash in Lebanon or a transfer abroad) and the account holder's name.
5. 5
   Have a Lebanese lawyer review it. Assukna, a property venture, advises diaspora buyers to have a lawyer check the title fully before anything else and to walk away if problems appear^[24]. Ask the lawyer about provisionally inscribing your promise^[4,15] and how that works before your flat has its own folio.
6. 6
   Keep proof of every payment. Get a signed receipt naming the unit and the instalment, and keep your transfer records. When the building is finished, follow how to register the flat after completion.

It depends on#

• The developer and project. Each plan is set by contract, and no published standard exists. Ask the developer for written terms and compare them across projects.
• How you can pay. JSK Real Estate said in 2023 that a seller who accepts both cash in Lebanon and a transfer abroad is far more likely to close^[11]. Agree the method in the contract and confirm it with your own bank.
• What you sign. The 2% advance is due on a surveyed sale contract^[8,9]. No source says whether it applies to a promise of sale, or whether it is still collected the same way after Law 10/2022. Ask the notary.
• Your nationality. The registration fee at the end is 3% of the value for Lebanese buyers, 5% for non-Lebanese^[25]. Ask the notary to confirm the amount before you budget.
• Where the project is. As of October 2026, the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to the South and Nabatiyeh governorates and parts of Beirut's southern suburbs^[26]. Weigh that before tying money to a building there.

Common questions#