How much compensation is an old-rent tenant owed if evicted?

Key facts#

Old-rent leases

Residential leases signed before 23 July 1992^[3,4,7]

Compensation under Law 160/92

25% to 50% of the property value (Jaber Law Firm) or 30% to 50% (Choueh Law Firm)^[1,2,3]

When it was due

Landlord reclaiming the flat for own or close-family use, or to demolish and rebuild^[1,2,3]

Nine-year extension ended

28 February 2026^[4,8,9] (other dates are argued, see below)

Twelve-year extension, Fund beneficiaries

Ends 28 February 2029^[4,9,10]

Compensation after the extension ends

Not stated by any source we read; ask a rent lawyer

Where disputes go

the rental court where the property is located^[2], according to Choueh Law Firm

If you face an eviction claim, or plan to bring one#

1. 1
   Confirm the lease is old. Find the signed lease or the earliest rent receipts and check the date. The old regime covers residential leases signed before 23 July 1992^[3,4,7]. Jaber Law Firm says Law 160/92 never covered some leases, such as seasonal lets, employee housing and villas built after 25 March 1974^[1]. Here is how to tell an old lease from a new one.
2. 2
   Gather proof of the Art. 8 and Art. 16 steps. If you are the tenant, collect any Fund application and any written request to the landlord for a new lease. The Metn appeals court upheld an eviction on 10 June 2026^[8,15] partly because the tenant could not prove a written Art. 16 request. Public Works Studio and a lawyer quoted by Maharat recommend sending such a letter through a notary (kateb adel) with acknowledgment of receipt; whether a letter sent after the deadline still helps is disputed, so ask a rent lawyer^[10,16]. The rules are in how to request the extra three years.
3. 3
   See a rent lawyer before you sign anything. Bring the lease, receipts, letters and any court papers. Ask three things: whether the Law 160/92 compensation can still be claimed in your case, how the property value would be assessed, and how Art. 58 affects you.
4. 4
   Expect the case to go to court. The end of the extension does not by itself remove the tenant, and landlords have gone to court for eviction orders^[5,8,9]. According to Choueh Law Firm, disputes go to the rental court where the property is located^[2]; the rulings reported in 2026 came from single rental judges and the rental chambers of appeals courts. Applying to the Fund alone has not kept tenants in place: the single judges of 10 March 2026 held that an application does not make a tenant a beneficiary^[5,10,12]. More in can the landlord evict an old-rent tenant now.

It depends on#

• Why the landlord wants the flat back. The 1992 compensation was tied to own or family use and to demolition^[1,2,3]. Jaber Law Firm lists separate grounds based on the tenant's conduct, such as two months' unpaid rent after legal notice^[1]; no source we read says whether compensation applies to those. Ask a rent lawyer.
• Whether you meet the Fund and Art. 16 conditions. Fund beneficiaries keep their lease to 28 February 2029^[4,9,10], but who counts as a beneficiary while no Fund operates is unsettled.
• The 2026 deadline pause. In July 2026 Parliament paused legal and contractual deadlines from 1 March to 31 July 2026^[13,16,17]. A landlords' adviser says the nine years ended before 1 March, the head of the Lebanese Real Estate Association says the pause does not extend the rent law, Public Works Studio says it may help, and a tenants' lawyer argues force majeure^{[13,16,17,18]}. See the 2026 deadline-suspension law.
• Parliament. Two old-rent drafts were still before the Administration and Justice Committee on 13 October 2026, with no decision^[6]. We have not seen whether either one addresses compensation.

Common questions#