What are the red flags that a property deal in Lebanon could be a scam?

Also asked as: “What are the red flags of a property scam in Lebanon?” · “How do I spot a real estate scam in Lebanon?” · “Signs of a fake seller or fake landlord in Lebanon” · “Is this property deal in Lebanon a fraud?”

The red flags police reports describe#

In March 2026, during the wartime displacement, the ISF Cybercrime Bureau warned about fake housing ads. Scammers offered a house or flat on social media or by direct contact, asked for an advance through a money-transfer company as a 'deposit' or 'reservation fee', and cut off contact once the money arrived^[1]. The ISF says not to send money to unknown people before you have seen the property in person and verified who its legal owner is. More in how to avoid rental scams.

In sales, the frauds the police reported rest on forged papers. In a case published in June 2026, the title deed of a property in Halat (Jbeil) was forged with a fake identity document in the real owner's name. Ownership passed first to the forger and then to a buyer, although the owner never sold^[5]. The buyer found out only when he tried to register the property, after he had paid. See what to do about a forged deed or a fake owner.

Powers of attorney are a second route. In July 2026 the ISF reported a suspect who forged deeds, identity cards and powers of attorney, used them to have notarised powers of attorney drawn up before notaries, then mortgaged the properties to several people^[3]. A forged sale POA was also used against the Jounieh property of an owner living abroad (Annahar, October 2025)^[2,3,4]. So a notary's stamp on a POA does not prove that the person behind it is genuine. Check the power of attorney before anyone sells to you under one.

Notaries do catch some forgeries. In August 2026 the ISF said notary offices in Jounieh and the Bekaa had reported suspected forged powers of attorney, a title deed and an identity card^[12]. On the law, Kallas Law Firm lists fraudulent manoeuvres under Art. 655 of the Penal Code that include disposing of property you have no right to dispose of and using a false name or capacity; fraud also requires that the victim handed over money or property as a result^[13]. The same firm says courts treat selling the same property twice as fraud. Separately, anyone who charges you a fee to 'get' a Banque de l'Habitat loan is not acting for the bank, because BDH says it works through no intermediaries or brokers^[14,15].

We found no Lebanese official source for the other warning signs that circulate online, such as a price that looks too low. The checks below protect you whatever signs you see or miss.

Paperwork that leaves you exposed#

You own a Lebanese property only once the sale is inscribed at the Land Registry^[6]. According to Kallas Law Firm, until then you hold only a personal right against the seller, and the property stays in the seller's name, open to any sale, mortgage or attachment entered before yours. If two buyers compete, the one entered first in the registry's daily journal ranks first, whatever date the deeds were signed^[16].

Be careful if you are offered an irrevocable power of attorney instead of a registered sale. Such a POA gives you a personal right against the seller, and ownership still passes only on inscription^[17]. Kallas reports that the Court of Cassation upheld the annulment of a sale registered under an irrevocable POA more than ten years^[18] after the POA was drawn up. Kallas also says a POA is irrevocable by its content, such as an acknowledgment that the full price was received, and not by its label. Courts can read a given POA differently, so have a lawyer read the wording.

According to Kallas, selling needs an express special mandate to sell^[17], and a general POA is not enough. The same firm says an agent who registers a sale at the Land Registry under an ordinary POA must produce one dated no more than five years earlier^[17,18].

In a new building, Decree 15874/2005 prohibits selling parts of a building that has no final occupancy permit, except units under Law 539/1996^[19]. Ask to see the final occupancy permit before you pay anything. The sources we read do not name the office that issues or confirms the permit, so ask the notary or a lawyer to check it for you.

What a Land Registry check can and cannot tell you#

The register is kept by property, not by owner, so you search it with the property's identifiers^[16]. To request a certificate you give the governorate (muhafaza), the district (caza), the real estate zone and the property number, plus the section and block where they apply^[7,9].

The official certificate is the ifadeh aqariyeh (Land Registry extract). According to Legalmondo (June 2025), it is issued only in person at the Land Registry office for the property's area^[7]. In April 2026 the Finance Minister said the registry's database allows certificates to be issued electronically, but we found no public procedure for this, so ask the registry office whether you can use it^[20]. Copies from the website or an OMT outlet are unofficial and cannot be used for a transaction or in court^[7,9,10,11]. Legalmondo also says anyone may request a certificate without showing an interest, and that none is issued while a lien or registration on the plot is still in process. Here is how to get the extract and what it costs.

The certificate lists the owners and their shares, mortgages, seizures, other charges and pending court actions^[7,11]. It cannot tell you that the person in front of you is the owner named on it. In the Halat case the forger used a fake ID in the real owner's name^[5], and the ISF does not say whether a certificate taken before payment would have revealed the forgery. Get the extract every time, and keep checking identity and papers alongside it.

To see where a plot actually lies, rely on the cadastral plan. According to Kallas, where the boundaries on the plan and on the ground differ, the plan prevails^[16,21]. The Cadastre supervises sworn surveyors^[22]. We found no published procedure or price for ordering a plan or a survey. Ask the Land Registry office for the area how to get the plan, and ask a sworn surveyor for a written quote. More in cadastral maps and surveys.