How do I end co-ownership of a property in Lebanon?

Also asked as: “How do I end co-ownership (removal of indivision) of a property in Lebanon?” · “What is izalat al-shuyu in Lebanon?” · “How do I partition an inherited property in Lebanon?” · “Can a co-owner force the sale of a shared property in Lebanon?”

Most of the detail on this page comes from one Lebanese law firm, Kallas Law Firm, in a guide published in August 2026. We did not read the text of Law 16/1982 itself. In Arabic the case is called izalat al-shuyu (إزالة الشيوع), removal of indivision^[1].

First, read the shares on the Land Registry extract#

Ownership of a Lebanese property is written in 2,400 shares^[2,3,4]. Each co-owner's or heir's part is a fraction of that total, and 2,400 shares is the whole property. Once heirs complete the transfer of inherited property, they get new title deeds in their names, by the shares in the Probate Decision, and they stay co-owners of those shares until a partition^[5].

A recent Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) shows the owners, charges, mortgages and restrictions on the plot^[6,7]. That is your list of who must be named in any case, and leaving out a single co-owner gets a partition application dismissed^[1]. Here is how to get the extract and what it costs.

Sometimes a property was registered to several people without fixed share sizes, and an undefined share like that cannot be partitioned or sold. If the co-owners do not agree on the shares, any of them can ask the additional land judge^[1,8] (القاضي العقاري الإضافي) to fix them before the partition case. Law 98 of 18 June 1999 gave the judge this power.

If the property is still in a deceased person's name, notaries and Land Registry officials may not draw up or register any transaction on the estate until the heirs hold the Ministry of Finance's authorisation^[5]. Ask a lawyer how this affects your partition before you start.

Ending it by agreement#

You and the other co-owners can divide the property yourselves by a deed registered at the Land Registry. If you all agree to sell but cannot agree on the price or the buyer, you can jointly ask the Execution Bureau to sell it at public auction without a lawsuit^[1]. We found no published fee for either route, so ask the Land Registry office or a lawyer before you sign.

You can also leave by selling only your share. A sale to another co-owner of the same property gives rise to no pre-emption^[9]. If you sell to an outsider, a co-owner can step into the buyer's place after the sale is registered. More in selling your share and the right of pre-emption.

A partition, agreed or ordered by a court, can be challenged for error, duress, fraud or lesion only by an action brought within one year of the partition^[1].

In court: what the judge can order#

The right to demand partition never prescribes^[1]. The Law 16/1982 summary procedure is mandatory whether the co-ownership came from an inheritance or a purchase, and however many co-owners there are; Kallas cites Court of Cassation decision 15 of 25 February 2003 for this. The application is notified to every co-owner, to holders of registered real rights and to the Land Registry, which notes it on the property's folio.

Kallas says an auction ordered while division was feasible can be reversed on appeal^[1]. For a co-owned building that cannot be divided in kind, the court must place it under the condominium regime if co-owners holding more than half of the shares^[1,10] ask for it, under Legislative Decree 88/1983, Art. 76, as read by the same firm. A court-ordered company pays the Treasury 3% of the company's capital, and the property then passes to it at the Land Registry with no further transfer or registry fee.

A court sale is run by the Execution Bureau (opening bid: the court's expert valuation^[1]). A co-owner may bid, and if no registered rights or creditors burden the property, they deposit or guarantee only the value of the shares they do not already own. The court may limit bidding to co-owners if its judgment says so. There is no pre-emption on a court auction^[9]. If one heir is pushing for a sale, see when one heir wants out and the others refuse.

A mortgage on one co-owner's share does not block partition. On a division the mortgage moves to that co-owner's portion, and on a sale their part of the price goes to the secured debt^[1,11]. See partitioning a mortgaged property or share.

If you live abroad, or a co-owner cannot be found#

According to Kallas, you do not have to travel: a lawyer can run the whole case under a power of attorney notarised abroad and authenticated through the Lebanese consulate^[1]. You sign the POA either in person at a Lebanese embassy or consulate, or before a local notary, in which case it is then authenticated by the local authorities and legalised by the Lebanese mission^{[12,13,14,15]}. An apostille is not enough, because Lebanon is not a member of the Apostille Convention^[16]. Here is how heirs abroad issue a power of attorney.

Co-owners who cannot be traced do not stall the case. Once the mukhtar certifies that a party's residence is unknown, that party is served by posting at the court and by publication in the Official Gazette and two local newspapers. Minors and incapacitated co-owners get a court-appointed guardian^[1].