How do I know whether a building in Lebanon is at risk of collapse?
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Short answer
Only a structural engineer's inspection can tell you. We found no public register of buildings classed as dangerous, and a report to the municipality does not guarantee an inspection[1]. Ask the owner or owners' association for any engineer's report, ask the municipality whether the building is on a danger list, and hire your own engineer before you commit.
Also asked as: “Is my building safe in Lebanon?” · “How to check a building's structure before buying in Lebanon” · “Is there a list of dangerous buildings in Lebanon?”
Reporting a building does not mean anyone will inspect it. The Tripoli building that collapsed on 8 February 2026 had been reported to the municipal call centre after residents heard creaking, but engineers had not inspected it[1]. This page covers what was published up to 17 October 2026.
Key facts
- Owner's duty
- Keep the building maintained, stable and sound, and have engineers inspect it when needed or when the municipality asks[2]
- If stability is impaired
- Temporary shoring under an engineer, then notice to the municipality before permanent strengthening[2]
- Owner does nothing about a collapse risk
- Demolition within 15 days to 2 months; in extreme urgency the warning can be cut to one day on a sworn expert engineer's report, and the municipality may evacuate the occupants[2]
- Tripoli, February 2026
- Municipal call centre: about 650 reported; 114 evacuation warnings[1]
- Beirut, July 2026
- Governorate file of about 160 buildings (Beirut)[3] sent to the Cabinet; the list is not public
- Ten-year collapse insurance
- Provided for by law for buildings under mandatory technical audit, lasting 10 years from the technical auditor's final report[2]; we did not find the implementing decree, so ask the developer whether a policy exists
- National strategy
- None, according to Amnesty International (February 2026)[4]
Why there is no simple check
Lebanon has no national strategy for buildings at risk, according to Amnesty International in February 2026[4]. We found no register you can search, so your answer has to come from the building's own papers, the municipality and an engineer. Reports differ on the toll of the Tripoli collapse of 8 February 2026: Al Jazeera says at least 15 people died, Amnesty International says 14[1,4].
In February 2026 Al Jazeera put the risk to hundreds of Tripoli buildings down to ageing infrastructure, unregulated construction, the 2019 crisis, the 2023 earthquake and a heavy rain season[1]. Local officials said many older buildings had irregular or unregulated floors added, which made them weaker. One engineer quoted by Al Jazeera put the lifespan of concrete at 50 to 80 years. He said many central Tripoli buildings are reaching the end of that span, and that water seeping into the concrete damages the steel inside it.
Paper checks have limits too. A 2023 paper says contractors and residents build beyond their licence by exploiting gaps in the building law[5], so a building may not match its permit. A Beirut Arab University study says that under the 2012 public safety decree, technical audit offices were required to check only three basic conditions, with 12 other tasks left optional[6]. The same study says violation-settlement laws weakened safety control, and successive rent laws weakened owners' ability to maintain their buildings.
What the law makes the owner do
Under Article 18(8) of Building Law 646/2004, the owner must keep the building stable and sound. When needed, or when the municipality asks on technical advice, the owner must have one or more engineers inspect it and write a detailed report[2]. If the building's stability is impaired, the owner must shore it up under an engineer's supervision and notify the municipality, or the governor or caimacam, before permanent strengthening.
If a building or wall threatens to collapse and the owner does not act, it must be demolished within 15 days to 2 months. In extreme urgency the warning can be cut to one day on a sworn expert engineer's report, and the municipality may evacuate the occupants[2]. We could not check how municipalities apply this in practice.
In an apartment building, the structure and foundations are common parts under Legislative Decree 88/1983[7,8]. Once a building has more than three private units, its owners form an owners' association by law, and that association manages the property. We found no rule saying whether a tenant or a buyer can ask the municipality to order the owner's engineer report. The municipality's engineering department can tell you.
What the authorities did in 2026
After the Tripoli collapse, the government announced on 9 February 2026 that 114 unsafe buildings would be evacuated within a month and temporary housing covered. It said the Higher Relief Commission would reinforce the buildings that could be saved and demolish those at imminent risk[1,4]. Al Jazeera reported a one-year shelter allowance for evacuated families. We did not check whether these measures were carried out. Amnesty International had already documented in 2024 that people in Tripoli kept living in unsafe houses after the February 2023 earthquakes[4].
In July 2026 LBCI reported that the Interior Ministry had asked all governorates to survey structurally damaged buildings, and that Beirut's governorate had sent the Cabinet a file of about 160 buildings[3]. That file is separate from the Beirut buildings damaged in the war on "Black Wednesday". The Cabinet tasked the Higher Relief Commission (الهيئة العليا للإغاثة), with engineering offices and the Order of Engineers, with surveying structurally damaged buildings in Beirut, so that residents of buildings classed as dangerous can receive temporary housing allowances. We did not check how far that survey has got.
For the Black Wednesday buildings, LBCI reported the same month that the Higher Relief Commission had the engineering firm Khatib & Alami assess them. The firm found they can be reinforced and need not be demolished, and the Interior Ministry referred the file to the Beirut governorate and municipality to start work through the engineering department[3]. That finding covers those buildings only.
How to check a building, step by step
- Identify the building on paper. Get an official Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) from the land registry office for the property's area[9,10]. Give the office the property's governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block[10,11]. Legalmondo, a law firm, put the fee at USD 5 in June 2025 and says the official extract can only be requested in person at that office, so from abroad someone has to go for you[10]. The fee may be collected in LBP, so ask the registry before you go. OMT offers a copy service that uses the same details. A building violation appears on the extract only if the municipality or the technical administration asked for it to be recorded[2], so a clean extract does not show the building is safe. See how to find violations before you buy.
- Ask the owner, seller or developer for the permit file. Ask for the building permit, the occupancy permit and the as-built plans. The occupancy application must include as-built plans registered with the Order of Engineers[2]. For a building permitted under the 2004 law, the permit application must include a soil-bearing study. Here is how to check a building permit and occupancy permit.
- Ask the owners' association for engineer reports. Ask in writing whether engineers have inspected the building and whether the municipality has ever asked for a report. Ask for copies of any report, any shoring notice and any record of work done.
- Ask the municipality directly. Go to the engineering department of the municipality where the building stands. Ask whether the building has been reported, has received a warning or evacuation notice, or is on a survey of damaged buildings (in Beirut, the governorate's file). In February 2026 Tripoli set up a call centre for residents to report suspected problems[1]. We found no published fee or time for this enquiry.
- Hire your own structural engineer. Choose an engineer registered with the Order of Engineers in Beirut or in Tripoli, the two Orders where building permit plans are registered[2]. Give the engineer the plans and reports you collected, and ask for a written report on the structure. We found no published price, so ask for a written quote first. If you live abroad, the engineer can visit without you; ask for the report in writing, with photos. More in getting a structural check before buying.
- Act on the result before you pay or sign. If the report finds the building's stability is impaired, the owner must shore it up under an engineer and notify the municipality before permanent strengthening[2]. If you are buying, do not pay until you know who will fix it and at what cost. If you rent, tell the landlord in writing and keep a copy.
It depends on
- The building's age and history. In Tripoli, local officials linked the weakness of older buildings to the 2023 earthquake and to floors added without proper permits[1]. We could not confirm when seismic building rules started; see earthquake resistance and the seismic code and ask your engineer.
- Where it is. Tripoli set up a municipal call centre in February 2026[1]. Elsewhere, ask your own municipality what it has recorded about the building.
- Structural damage in Beirut. In July 2026 the Cabinet tasked the Higher Relief Commission, with the Order of Engineers, with surveying structurally damaged buildings in Beirut, according to LBCI; we did not check its progress[3]. That survey is separate from the war-damaged Black Wednesday buildings. If the building was hit in the war, read buying a war-damaged flat or house.
- Whether you own, rent or are buying. The law puts the duty on the owner[2]. Occupants can be evacuated by the municipality if the owner does not act on a collapse risk. A buyer takes the building as it is, so get the engineer's report before you pay.
- Whether the building is new. The law provides for ten-year collapse insurance for buildings under mandatory technical audit, but we did not find the decree that brings it into force[2]. Ask the developer; see ten-year building insurance.
Common questions
Is there a public list of buildings at risk of collapse in Lebanon?
We found none. Tripoli's call centre had received reports on about 650 buildings and evacuation warnings had gone out for 114 by February 2026, and Beirut's governorate sent the Cabinet a file of about 160 buildings in July 2026, but we found neither list published[1][3]. Ask the municipality where the building stands.
Who is responsible for making an unsafe building safe in Lebanon?
The owner. Building Law 646/2004 requires the owner to keep the building stable and sound and to have engineers inspect it when needed or when the municipality asks[2]. If the owner does not act on a collapse risk, the building must be demolished within 15 days to 2 months, and in extreme urgency the warning can be cut to one day on a sworn expert engineer's report.
Does insurance cover a building collapse in Lebanon?
The 2004 Building Law provides for collapse insurance lasting 10 years from the technical auditor's final report[2], applied progressively to buildings under mandatory technical audit. We did not find the Council of Ministers decree that says which buildings are covered, so ask the developer whether such a policy exists for the building.
Can tenants be evacuated from an unsafe building in Lebanon?
Sources
Checked against these sources. The numbers in the text point here.
- 1.Deadly tower collapse has locals in Lebanon's Tripoli asking: Are we next?
Al Jazeera · 20 Feb 2026 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 2.Law 646 of 16/12/2004 (Building Law), amending Legislative Decree 148 of 16/09/1983
Lebanese Republic, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU) · 16 Dec 2004 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 3.From war damage to safety risks: Beirut’s fragile buildings remain in limbo after ‘Black Wednesday’
LBCI · 25 Jul 2026 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 4.Lebanon: Deadly building collapse in Tripoli must spur genuine government action for prevention and reparations
Amnesty International · February 2026 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 5.Lebanese building law between texts, application gaps and land scarcity
Journal of Planner and Development (JPD), Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies, University of Baghdad · 1 Feb 2023 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 6.Public Safety in Buildings in Accordance with Lebanese Law (abstract only)
Beirut Arab University (BAU Journal - Journal of Legal Studies, Digital Commons) · undated · read 17 Oct 2026
- 7.Managing the ownership of floors and flats (Dr Nader Abdel Aziz Chaffi, Army Magazine issue 302-303, August 2010)
Lebanese Army (Army Magazine, "We and the Law" section) · August 2010 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 8.Legislative Decree No. 88 of 16/9/1983 on co-ownership of built property
Joseph Wanis Official Site (lawyer Joseph Wanis) · 22 Mar 2019 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 9.Inheritance in Lebanon: Probate, Estate Declaration and Inheritance Tax (2026)
Kallas Law Firm · 27 Jun 2022 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 10.How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Lebanon
Legalmondo · 17 Jun 2025 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 11.OMT: Viewing Title Registers (Land Registry service page)
OMT (Online Money Transfer S.A.L.) · undated · read 17 Oct 2026
Related questions
- Should I get a structural engineer to inspect a flat before I buy it in Lebanon?Usually yes, especially in older or war-damaged buildings. No fee scale is published. Owners' legal duties, official checks and how to hire an engineer.
- How do I check that a building has a valid building permit and occupancy permit before I buy or rent?Get copies from the seller, then check them at the municipality, on the Land Registry extract and with an engineer. What each permit proves.
- How can I find out if a property has building violations or unpaid fines before I buy it?Get an official Land Registry extract, ask the municipality for its clearance, and have an engineer check the permit. What each shows and what it misses.
- Is ten-year building insurance mandatory in Lebanon, and who is liable for defects?Law 646/2004 sets ten-year collapse insurance for audited buildings, but its decree is unconfirmed. What the law says, who is responsible, what to check.
- Can I buy a war-damaged flat or house in Lebanon, and what should I check first?It depends on location: a draft law would bar sales in occupied southern towns. Check the extract, the building and aid rights first.
- Are buildings in Lebanon built to resist earthquakes, and when did a seismic code start?No confirmed start date for a seismic code: its text was not found. What Law 646/2004 requires, why older buildings are at risk, and how to check.
- Is Tripoli a good place to live or buy property, and what does it cost?We found no published Tripoli prices or rents. What is known about building safety after the February 2026 collapse, and how to check a flat yourself.
- Can I add a floor or extend my building in Lebanon, and what permit do I need?Yes, with a prior building permit, within your plot's planning limits. Who issues it, the engineer's role, shared roofs, the model-design route and risks.
