Can the landlord evict an old-rent tenant now, and how fast?

Also asked as: “Can my landlord evict me under old rent in Lebanon?” · “Old rent eviction after 28 February 2026” · “How long does an old-rent eviction take?” · “Do old-rent tenants have to leave now?”

What the courts decided in 2026#

Before 2026, appeals rulings favoured tenants. Beirut (318/2021) applied the extension to 2029 and suspended the Fund articles, and Mount Lebanon (28 April 2025) held that the deadlines could not be counted. In 2026 every reported ruling went the other way. Three single judges ruled on 10 March 2026 and all ordered eviction. They differed only on timing: the Beirut judge deferred enforcement by three months and the Zahle judge ordered immediate eviction^[2,4].

The March judges held that applying to the Fund does not make a tenant a beneficiary, because the reviewing committee was never formed^[2,6,10]. According to Public Works Studio, which reported the rulings, some judges also found that the tenant had not renewed the Fund application every year, or had not sent a reservation-of-rights letter three months before the nine years ended^[2].

On 10 June 2026^[3,7], the Metn rental-disputes chamber of the Mount Lebanon civil appeals court upheld an eviction. It held that the nine years ended on 28 February 2026 and that the tenant still had to meet the Art. 8 and Art. 16 deadlines even though the Fund is not working. The tenant lost on two grounds: the committee application came on 17 February 2026, 11 days before the end, and there was no proof of a written Art. 16 request to the landlord. A later appeals decision has been reported, but we could not confirm it, so this page does not rely on it. For the wider picture, see what happens to old-rent tenants after February 2026.

The two steps that decide whether a tenant can stay#

The Metn court set out two cumulative obligations for a tenant who wants to stay beyond nine years. The first is a Fund application to the committee within two months of the start of the ninth extended year. The second is a written request to the landlord, three months before the ninth year ends, for a new lease of up to three years^[3,7]. The court also said the tenant must prove a committee decision confirming eligibility within the same period, which cannot exist while no committee has been formed.

Under Art. 16 the new lease is for up to three years^[3,6], and for a 28 February 2026 end the written request was due around 28 November 2025. A tenant who misses that deadline loses the right. The details are in how to request the extra three years.

Tenant-side advisers recommend a written reservation-of-rights letter to the landlord, preferably sent through a notary with acknowledgment of receipt, as proof of the Art. 16 request. That is their advice, and lawyer Maya Bardawil gave the same advice in November 2025 as a precaution^[6,11]. The Metn tenant lost for lack of proof, so a dated letter with a notary receipt is the document to look for in your papers.

The Metn appeals court, lawyer Judith Tini and landlords' adviser Charbel Charfan read the next step the same way. Once the extension ends without those steps, the lease falls under ordinary law, the Code of Obligations and Contracts. The tenant must then leave or agree new terms, and a tenant who stays occupies the flat without legal basis^[3,4,10,12]. Tenant-side lawyers dispute this, relying on Art. 58^[2,3,6].

Art. 58 and the deadline suspension: the tenants' arguments#

Lawyers quoted by Maharat (November 2025) and a Public Works Studio author (March 2026) say Art. 58 suspends the law, including its deadlines and evictions of Fund-eligible tenants, until the Fund operates. The Metn appeals court held in June 2026 that Art. 58 does not suspend the tenant's own deadlines, and would suspend eviction proceedings only for a tenant who had met them. We found no Court of Cassation ruling^[2,3,6]. Where the Fund stands is covered in whether the old-rent Fund is working.

In July 2026 parliament passed a law pausing legal and contractual deadlines from 1 March to 31 July 2026^[11,12,13]. Its effect on old rent is disputed. A landlords' adviser says the nine years ended before 1 March. The head of the Lebanese Real Estate Association says the pause only stops the clock and does not amend or extend the rent law. Public Works Studio argues it may help, and a tenants' lawyer argues force majeure since October 2023, so that tenants can again send the Art. 16 request and re-file Art. 8 applications^{[11,12,13,14]}.

According to Public Works Studio, the ninth year moved to Monday 2 March 2026, inside the suspension, so tenants had until 31 July 2026 to file and send their letter. No court has endorsed this reading, and that window has passed^[11]. More in the 2026 deadline-suspension law.

How fast an eviction can happen#

We found no source that gives a realistic time from filing a case to enforcement at the execution department. The only timing in the reported rulings is from March 2026: the Beirut judge deferred enforcement by three months and the Zahle judge ordered immediate eviction^[2,4]. If either side appeals, no source says how much longer it takes. A rent lawyer who works before the rental court where the property is located can tell you how long cases there are taking.

The evictions reported in 2026 all went through courts^[1,2,3]. According to haqq.ai, a legal-information website, eviction in Lebanon always requires a court order and a landlord may not evict by himself, though that page cites no law^[15]. We did not read a law text on this point, so ask a rent lawyer to confirm it for your case.