What does 'green tapu, 2400 shares' mean on a Lebanese property?

Key facts#

Ownership is counted in

2,400 shares^[1,2,3], and all of them together are the whole property

In a building divided into flats

2,400 parts per unit^[4], so 2,400 is the whole flat, not the whole building

What a share is

An undivided fraction of the whole property, not a marked-out piece of it^[3,7,8]

Where shares are shown

The official Land Registry extract: owners, shares, area, mortgages, seizures and court actions^[2,5]

To request an extract, give

governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[2,9]

Official extract

USD 5^[2] according to Legalmondo (June 2025), in person at the registry office for the property's area^[2,10]

"Green tapu"

Not defined by any Lebanese source we found

How to check the shares before you pay#

1. 1
   Get the identifiers from the seller. Ask for the governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[2,9]. Without these you cannot request an extract.
2. 2
   Look at an unofficial copy if you want a first view. Since 13 October 2020, OMT outlets let you view a property's title register and give you an unofficial copy^[9,14]. OMT publishes no fee for this, so ask at the outlet. Bring the property identifiers plus a mobile number and email address^[2,9]. Legalmondo (June 2025) says an unofficial form from the land registry website costs USD 4^[2], but we could not check that the service still runs. Neither copy counts for a sale or in court^[2,5,9,14].
3. 3
   Get the official extract (ifadeh aqariyeh). It is requested in person at the land registry office for the area where the property lies^[2,10]. Legalmondo says anyone may request one without showing a legal interest, so a lawyer or someone you trust can collect it if you are abroad. It also says no certificate is issued while a lien or a registration on the plot is still being processed^[2]. Kallas (October 2025) says a physical certificate takes about 2 business days^[5]. In April 2025 several Mount Lebanon offices opened only on set days^[15], so phone the office before anyone travels. More in how to get a Land Registry extract.
4. 4
   Read every line. Check who is registered, how they got the property and how many shares each holds. Then check the area and any mortgages, seizures or pending court actions^[2,5]. If the seller holds fewer than 2,400 shares, other people own the rest. Any charge left on the folio passes to you unless it is cleared first^[16].
5. 5
   Find the plot on the ground. Where the cadastral plan and the boundaries on the ground differ, the plan prevails^[1,7]. The Cadastre oversees the sworn surveyors it works with^[17]. We found no published procedure or price for ordering a plan, so ask a sworn surveyor for a written quote. See cadastral maps and surveys.
6. 6
   Have a lawyer check names, ID and papers, then sign and register. The sale is signed as a notarial deed before a notary (kateb adel) and then inscribed at the Land Registry, and ownership passes only on inscription^[16]. Between competing claims, the earlier entry in the registry's daily journal ranks first, whatever date the deed was signed, so file the sale as soon as the deed is signed^[7]. The full checklist is in how to check a title deed.

It depends on#

• Flat or land. In a divided building, 2,400 parts make up one unit^[4]. On land, the shares are of the whole plot. Ask the notary to confirm which folio the extract covers.
• Surveyed or not. In areas where delimitation is not complete, a special publication procedure applies before any new inscription, with two months for objections^[7]. Annahar reported on 30 March 2026 that Finance Ministry Circular 609/2026 requires unsurveyed and mushaa land to be registered first in the State's name^[18]. The circular was contested as of that date^[18,19], and we did not find whether it was changed later. Ask a lawyer what applies to your plot.
• The land type. Mulk land gives full ownership, and amiri land gives only a tasarruf right^[8]. Ask the registry office or a lawyer what the extract records.
• Buying part of a plot. A co-owner can take over a share sold to an outsider after the sale is registered, on the same terms^[20]. According to Kallas, they have 10 days, plus a distance delay, after you formally notify them of the registered sale (through a notary, or under Article 362 of the Code of Civil Procedure for co-owners living abroad), or one year from registration if you do not notify them.
• Split rights. Legalmondo notes that ownership may be split between a usage right and bare ownership^[2,5]. Ask a lawyer to explain any such entry before you sign.

Common questions#