Is buying off-plan in Lebanon safe today?

Key facts#

Before a flat gets its own deed

The owner must show an occupancy permit plus electricity and water connection certificates^[1]

Until registration

A personal right against the seller, not ownership^[2,3]

Promise of sale

Can be provisionally inscribed on the plot's folio to keep your rank^[2,5]

Charges on the plot

Mortgages and seizures on the folio pass to the buyer unless cleared^[2]

Selling units without a final occupancy permit

Decree 15874/2005 Art. 5 bars it, per the DGU text; ask a lawyer^[6]

Home loans

News reports say commercial banks were still not writing mortgages in autumn 2026^[7,8]

Official extract

In person at the land registry office^[9,10,11,12]

How to check an off-plan project before you pay#

1. 1
   Get the plot's details and an official Land Registry extract. Ask the developer in writing for the plot's governorate, district, real estate zone and property number. These are needed to request a certificate, plus the section and block where they apply^[9,12]. The official certificate (ifadeh aqariyeh) is issued in person at the land registry office, and copies obtained online or through OMT are for reference only^[9,10,11,12]. One law firm gave the cost as USD 5^[12] in June 2025, and another gave about 2 business days for a physical certificate in October 2025^[11]. If you are abroad, have a lawyer you hire request it for you.
2. 2
   Read the extract line by line. The owner named should be the seller or the developer's company. Look for mortgages, seizures, provisional inscriptions and pending court actions^[11,12]. Any charge left on the folio passes to the buyer unless it is cleared^[2]. If no area is shown, the plot may not have been finally surveyed. A clean extract does not prove there are no building violations, because they are recorded only at an authority's request^[1]. See what happens if the developer's land is mortgaged.
3. 3
   See the plot on the ground. The extract identifies the plot on paper. Ask an engineer or surveyor you hire to find that plot number on the cadastral map and then on site, so you know the building you are shown stands on the plot in the extract. Our sources do not name the office that issues cadastral maps or what a copy costs. Ask the land registry office for the plot's real estate district, or your surveyor, where the map is issued and what it costs.
4. 4
   Check the company behind the project. A company certificate shows the shareholders, the management and the registered offices, and one law firm gives about 2 business days to obtain it^[11]. That firm does not name the office or the fee, so ask your lawyer to get it. More in how to check a developer.
5. 5
   Ask for the building permit. It is issued by the head of the municipality, or the governor or caimacam outside municipal areas^[1], and it is valid for six years, renewable once for two years. Ask the municipality to confirm the permit is genuine and still valid. See checking that the seller owns the land and holds a permit.
6. 6
   Have a lawyer read the contract before any deposit. Assukna, a property venture, advises diaspora buyers to have a lawyer do full title due diligence first, and not to buy if problems appear^[24]. Ask the lawyer whether your promise can be provisionally inscribed on the plot's folio^[2,5], and how the payments are tied to construction stages. More in whether a promise of sale is enough.
7. 7
   Pay in traceable stages and keep every record. Pay by bank transfer where you can, and do not pay ahead of the work. Keep the contract, every receipt and dated site photos.
8. 8
   Register as soon as the building is divided. Between competing rights, priority goes by the date of entry in the registry's daily journal, not the date you signed^[13]. Once the building is divided, each flat gets a number added to the plot number, starting from 4^[25]. Here is how registration works after completion.

It depends on#

• Where the project is. The UK travel advice, as of October 2026^[4], warns against the South, Nabatiyeh and parts of the southern suburbs, and a law on southern property sales was still a draft in late September 2026^[23]. Ask a lawyer what applies to your plot.
• Whether the plot is mortgaged. A mortgage on the plot passes to the buyer unless it is cleared^[2]. Kallas Law Firm puts the release fee at 1% of the debt released^[26]. If the mortgage secures an interest-bearing debt, releasing it also needs prior approval from the tax departments, with some exclusions; your lawyer can check whether this applies^[26,27]. Have the contract say who arranges and pays for the release.
• The flat's size. For flats over 300 m²^[6], the developer can hand over the flat without interior finishes if this is written into the sale contract. The remaining works then need a declaration or a renovation permit later.
• Your nationality. The registration fee is 3% of the value for Lebanese buyers, 5% for non-Lebanese^[28]. Ask the notary (kateb adel) to confirm what applies to you before you sign.

Common questions#