How do I check that a real-estate broker in Lebanon is legitimate and licensed?

Also asked as: “Are real estate agents licensed in Lebanon?” · “How can I check that a broker in Lebanon is genuine before paying a deposit?” · “Is my Lebanese broker a member of the syndicate?” · “How do I know a real estate agent in Lebanon is real?”

Is there a broker licence to check?#

Lebanon's Commercial Code has a chapter on brokerage, Arts 291 to 297. It covers the brokerage contract, the fee, when the fee is lost and the records a broker keeps, and we found no requirement in it for a real-estate broker to hold a licence or to register^[1]. Some online summaries say brokers are licensed, but we found no primary source for that.

We did not search every ministerial decision, so whether any rule in force in October 2026 requires brokers to register is not confirmed. If it matters to you, ask the Ministry of Economy and Trade, REAL or a Lebanese lawyer to show you the text. Brokers do have legal duties: under Law 44/2015^[12], the anti-money-laundering law, they must keep records and carry out due-diligence checks. More in are brokers licensed or regulated in Lebanon.

What REAL membership tells you#

REAL, the Syndicate of Real Estate Brokers and Consultants in Lebanon, was set up under Labour Minister Decision 188 of 1 December 2012^[2]. It is a trade syndicate formed under the Labour Law, and the decision that created it gives no licence to practise and does not make membership compulsory. In December 2015 its president said it had 153 members, out of about 600 brokerage offices in the country^[6]. We found no current figure.

In 2015 REAL described three plans: a broker registry at the Ministry of Economy with a symbolic bank guarantee^[6], a complaint channel at the ministry and a brokerage law. We found no source showing that any of them was adopted. On 15 April 2026^[10], Annahar reported a REAL statement calling on everyone working in real estate, members or not, to follow the laws in force.

We found no public list of members, so ask REAL itself whether it confirms membership on request. A yes is one signal among several and does not prove the deal is sound. See what REAL membership means.

Check the property and the owner yourself#

An honest broker can still be handed forged papers, so the checks that protect you are on the property and the owner. A Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) shows the owner, mortgages, charges and restrictions on the plot^[3,4]. According to Legalmondo, a law firm, anyone may request one without showing an interest, and no certificate is issued while a lien or a registration on the plot is still in process^[9].

You request the official extract in person at the land registry office for the area where the property lies^[8,9]. Legalmondo put the fee at USD 5^[9] in June 2025. OMT outlets can show the register entry and print a copy^[13,14], but online and OMT copies are unofficial and not enough for a transaction^[9,13,14,15]. Use them for a first look, then get the official extract before you pay. Here is how to check a title deed.

The extract proves who owns a numbered plot. It does not prove that the land the broker shows you is that plot. According to Kallas Law Firm, reading Decree 188/1926 Art. 8, where the cadastral plan and the ground differ, the plan prevails^[3,16]. The Cadastre oversees sworn surveyors^[17], but we found no published route or price for ordering a plan or a survey. See getting a cadastral map or survey, and ask a surveyor you choose yourself for a written quote.

Then match the person to the extract. The ISF urges people not to transfer money to people they do not know before they have inspected the property in person and verified who its legal owner is^[11]. Forged powers of attorney have been used to try to sell or mortgage property^[18,19,20]. If someone signs for an owner abroad, Kallas Law Firm says an ordinary power of attorney used for registration must be no more than 5 years old^[21,22]. Here is how to check a power of attorney is genuine.

We found no published way to check that a broker really holds the owner's mandate to sell or to let. The practical test is to speak to the registered owner yourself, or to their verified agent.

Put the broker's terms in writing#

No law fixes the rate: a broker's fee is set by agreement, an official tariff or custom, and a judge may reduce a fee that is out of proportion to the deal and the work^[1]. JSK Real Estate (2018) and REAL's president (2015), both brokers, describe the custom as 2.5% of the final price from each side^[6,7]. The fee is earned when the broker's work leads to the contract. The law does not say whether that means the promise of sale, the notarial deed or registration, so name the exact moment in your written agreement, along with the rate and who pays.

Under Art. 296 of the Commercial Code, a broker must record every transaction with its terms and give a certified copy to any party who asks for one^[1]. JSK, an agency, says one agent acting for both buyer and seller is accepted in Lebanon^[7]. A broker who acts for the other party in breach of his duties loses the fee. Ask the broker in writing whom he works for.

Banque de l'Habitat says it does not work through any intermediaries or brokers, so anyone who charges you a fee to "get" a BDH loan is not acting for the bank^[23,24].