My developer stopped building after taking my money. What can I do?

Also asked as: “My developer stopped building my apartment after I paid. What can I do in Lebanon?” · “Off-plan project stopped in Lebanon, how do I get my money back?” · “Developer abandoned the building I paid for” · “Can I sue a developer who stopped construction in Lebanon?”

What is known and what is not#

We found no Lebanese source on how courts deal with a developer who stops building. Nothing sourced covers cancelling the contract and getting a refund, forcing the developer to finish, or buyers taking over the project. Only a lawyer who reads your contract can tell you which of these is open to you.

Kallas Law Firm does describe one route. A buyer under an unregistered sale contract can sue the seller, or the seller's heirs, to force registration, claim damages or have the sale confirmed, and the right to demand registration can prescribe^[6,8]. Ask a lawyer how this applies to a flat that is not built and has no folio of its own. More on being a buyer with only a contract.

The sources also cover your position on paper and the state of the building. Both decide how strong your case is, and you can check both yourself without trusting the developer or the agent.

What the Land Registry tells you#

The official extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) of the plot shows who owns it, the shares, and any mortgages, seizures, charges and pending court actions^[3,4]. Look first at whether the developer still owns the land and whether a bank or creditor has a mortgage or seizure on it. Any charge left on the folio passes to the buyer unless it is cleared^[1]. If the land is mortgaged or seized, read whether the developer's creditors can take the land.

Check what your own right looks like on the folio. A promise of sale that was provisionally inscribed keeps your rank against later sales and mortgages; one that was not cannot be relied on against third parties acting in good faith^[1,9]. Even so, Kallas Law Firm says an annotation based on an ordinary sale contract or a power of attorney does not transfer ownership, and your right stays subject to the ten-year limitation until final registration^[10]. Kallas does not discuss off-plan units, so ask a lawyer how this applies to your flat. More in whether a promise of sale protects you.

Provisional inscriptions also expire, after periods from one month to one year depending on how they were made^[6]. Between competing buyers or creditors, the one entered first in the registry's daily journal ranks first. A notice that a court case is pending can go on the folio only by decision of the president of the competent civil court. Ask your lawyer whether any of these steps fits your situation and what deadline applies.

What the building permit tells you#

A building permit lasts six years, renewable once for two years^[5]. Renewal must be requested within six months of expiry and follows the rules in force at renewal. Permits are issued by the head of the municipality, or the governor or caimacam outside municipal areas, so the municipality where the plot lies is the place to ask whether the permit is still valid.

An unfinished shell can carry debts. If the facades are still unfinished one year after the permit expires, a fine of 15% of the permit fees per year^[5] is registered on the folio as a privileged debt. Building violations go on the folio only when the municipality or technical administration asks for it, so a clean extract does not prove there are none. Your flat cannot get its own folio until the owner shows an occupancy permit plus electricity and water connection certificates, except for units subdivided under Law 539/1996; see registering a flat after completion.

When it may be a crime#

A real project that stalls is not, by itself, fraud. Kallas Law Firm (August 2026) lists among fraudulent acts under Art. 655 of the Penal Code acts designed to make a victim believe in a fictitious project^[7]. It says fraud carries 6 months to 3 years in prison, doubled in some cases, and is prosecuted without needing the victim's complaint. The same firm says settled case law treats selling the same property twice as fraud.

According to Kallas, the limitation period for fraud runs from the last payment, not from discovery^[7]. The source does not give the length of that period, so do not wait: a lawyer can tell you how much time is left. Whether your developer's conduct is fraud is for the prosecutor and the courts. See where to report property fraud.