Can I buy an apartment in Lebanon in instalments from the owner or developer?

Also asked as: “Can I buy an apartment in Lebanon in instalments, and how do I protect myself?” · “How do developer payment plans work for apartments in Lebanon?” · “Buying a flat on a payment plan in Lebanon” · “Paying a developer in instalments in Lebanon”

How developer payment plans work#

One undated OLX advertisement by Dyarcom Real Estate for a project under construction in Rabieh (Metn) offers down payment + monthly or 3-4 construction-stage payments; instalments to June/December 2026^[1], besides cash. The same advert asks USD 240,000 to 290,000 for 150 m² depending on floor and garden. That is one broker's advert. It shows that such plans exist, says nothing about what is normal, and does not state the down payment.

The advert also says the units come with a title deed^[1]. Be careful with that phrase. A building cannot be finally divided into separate flats without an occupancy permit and proof of electricity and water connection^[6]. Until a flat has its own folio, no right can be registered on that specific flat. What can be registered is a number of shares in the whole plot^[5].

Bank credit is scarce. As of autumn 2026, the press reports that Lebanese commercial banks are still not writing home mortgages^[9,10]. According to JSK Real Estate, a broker, purchases in 2025 were paid in full in cash or by bank transfer^[11,12]. We found no source on instalment sales of finished flats directly from private owners.

What you own while you are still paying#

Until the sale is inscribed, the property stays legally the seller's, and anything entered on its folio before your inscription ranks ahead of you^[2]. According to Kallas Law Firm, if the seller refuses to complete, a buyer under an unregistered contract can sue the seller or the seller's heirs to force registration, claim damages or have the sale confirmed^[5,13].

An irrevocable power of attorney to sell is not a sale either. It leaves you with a personal right until inscription^[13]. Kallas Law Firm says the same is true of a precautionary or lawsuit annotation based on an ordinary contract or a POA: it does not transfer ownership, and the ten-year limitation keeps running until final registration^[14].

UN-Habitat/GLTN and the Norwegian Refugee Council say a buyer who does not register within ten years^[3,15] loses the right to register. Kallas adds that open, continuous possession can interrupt that clock^[5,13]. Ask a lawyer how this applies to a flat that does not yet have its own folio.

No Lebanese source we found explains how developers usually set up instalment sales on paper. Before you sign, ask a lawyer or the notary (kateb adel):

• What exactly will be registered, and when?
• Will your promise be provisionally inscribed, and on which folio?
• If the developer proposes a different structure, what risk does it leave with you?

If the structure involves a mortgage, Kallas Law Firm says registering a mortgage costs 1% of the secured debt and releasing one costs 1% of the debt released^[16]. More on this in whether a promise of sale protects you on an unbuilt flat.

Protecting each payment#

A provisional inscription is your main protection, but it lapses. Depending on how it was made, it expires after one month, six months, two months or up to one year^[5]. Have your lawyer track the date and tell you what to do before it lapses. Kallas says every mortgage, attachment or court notice already on the folio passes to you unless it is cleared before you buy^[2]. That includes a bank's mortgage on the developer's land: see whether the developer's bank can take the land.

When a surveyed sale contract is drawn up, Law 64/2017 requires an advance on the transfer fee of 2% within 15 days of the contract^[17,18], calculated on the contract price plus the municipal fee. That advance is not refunded if the sale is not registered within one year. Whether it is still collected the same way after Law 10/2022 is not confirmed, so ask the notary or the Land Registry office.

Forgery happens. In June 2026, police reported a forged deed for a property in Halat (Jbeil), and the buyer learned the deed was invalid only when he tried to register the property^[19]. Kallas Law Firm lists acts that make a victim believe in a fictitious project among the fraud covered by Art. 655 of the Penal Code^[20]. A real project that stalls is not fraud by itself. If you paid in instalments, the limitation period for prosecuting fraud runs from the last payment, not from discovery, according to Kallas Law Firm. The source does not give the length of that period, so report promptly and ask a lawyer.