Can my landlord raise the rent during the lease or every year?

Also asked as: “Can landlord increase rent Lebanon” · “Can my landlord increase the rent every year in Lebanon?” · “Rent increase during a lease in Lebanon” · “Can the landlord change the rent after three years?”

Which law covers your lease#

A residential lease signed after July 1992 is a "new" lease. It falls under Law 159/92^[1,6,7,8] and the leasing chapter of the Code of Obligations and Contracts, and under these rules landlord and tenant set the rent and the term freely. So start with what your contract says.

Leases signed before 23 July 1992 follow the old-rent regime instead^[2,3,4]. That regime is the 2014 rent law as amended by Law 2/2017^[2,3,10]. Under it, tenants who benefit from the Fund pay the bedel al-mithl (equivalent rent)^[4,11,12] during their extension. If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, see whether your lease is old or new. For what old-rent tenants pay now, see old-rent amounts and bedel al-mithl.

During the term: the rent stays as written#

Adala Law Firm says a landlord may not demand any increase before the lease term ends^[1]. On exchange-rate moves, one 2019 opinion says the base rent cannot change but the landlord may sue for damages^[13]. Adala's view is one law firm's reading, and we found no court ruling on it.

Two law firms say a post-1992 residential lease runs at least three years, but they give different legal bases^[1,5,7]. Jaber Law Firm says a tenant on a one-year contract may stay three consecutive years under Art. 543 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts. Adala Law Firm says a shorter agreed term is treated as three years under Law 159/92. The sources do not say how this rule and the no-increase rule combine for a one-year contract, so ask a lawyer before you accept or demand a yearly rise. More in the three-year minimum for new leases.

LCPS, a policy think tank, described post-1992 leases in September 2025 as liberalised, with adjustment every three years^[4]. It does not explain how that adjustment works or who sets it. We found no source on whether a clause written into the lease is valid, such as a fixed yearly percentage or an index, and Adala's page does not discuss such clauses^[1]. If your lease has one, have a lawyer read it.

At the end of the term#

If the lease ends and you stay, and the landlord keeps accepting rent without objection, Art. 593 treats the lease as renewed on the same terms and term^[1], according to Adala Law Firm. Staying on against the landlord's wishes is not renewal. Adala adds that the landlord may not demand an increase during a tacit renewal either.

So a landlord who wants a higher rent has to act when the term ends. To end the lease at its term, Adala says the landlord should declare that they will not renew, or send a notice that the lease has expired and ask the tenant to leave. They should also refuse further rent, because accepting it counts as tacit renewal^[1]. We found no source that gives a minimum notice period. Your options if no new rent is agreed are covered in eviction after the lease ends.

Dollars, a new owner and the pending bill#

In 2019, before the lira collapsed, notary-board member Wahib Fayyad told Annahar that a landlord may sue for damages caused by the dollar's rise but cannot change the base rent because of the exchange rate^[13]. That is one person's opinion, and we found no ruling applying it. See whether a landlord can demand dollars.

If the flat is sold, an unregistered lease binds the new owner for no more than three years of rent, and leases longer than three years should be inscribed at the Land Registry (السجل العقاري)^[7,9]. We found no source on whether a new owner can raise the rent once that protection runs out. We also found no published fee or procedure for inscribing a lease. Ask the Land Registry office for the property, or a notary (kateb adel).

The 25 February 2026 bill on new leases would also raise the minimum term from 3 to 5 years (proposed)^[5] and protect tenants from arbitrary increases. Separately, Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee was still studying two old-rent drafts on 13 October 2026, with no decision^[14].