Can I cancel or claim compensation if my developer delivers months late?

Also asked as: “Can I cancel or claim compensation if my off-plan apartment in Lebanon is delivered late?” · “Developer late delivering apartment Lebanon” · “Penalty for late handover off-plan Lebanon” · “Can I get my money back if the building is delayed?”

What we found, and what we did not#

We looked for Lebanese sources on penalties for late handover, on cancelling an off-plan purchase because of delay, and on typical penalty clauses. We found none. So the answer sits in your own contract and in how a Lebanese court would read it, and we do not publish advice on contract clauses without a lawyer's review.

Take the contract to a lawyer and ask four things. Does it set a firm delivery date? Does it have a penalty or compensation clause for delay? Does any clause let either side end the contract? Does any clause excuse delay for war or other events? Also ask what notice, if any, you have to give before you act.

If the project has stopped altogether, see what to do when a developer stops building.

Where you stand while the flat is unbuilt#

Until the sale is registered at the Land Registry, Kallas Law Firm says you hold only a personal right. The property stays in the seller's name and is exposed to any sale, mortgage or seizure entered before your registration^[3]. Kallas also says your right to demand registration can prescribe, unless you can show you received the property and have held it openly, continuously and without challenge^[1,2].

An unbuilt flat cannot be registered on its own yet. The building cannot be divided into separate units until the owner shows an occupancy permit and electricity and water connection certificates^[5].

A promise of sale that is provisionally inscribed on the property's folio keeps your rank against a later sale or mortgage. Without that inscription it cannot be relied on against third parties acting in good faith^[3,7]. Kallas adds that such an annotation does not make you the owner, and your right stays subject to the ten-year limitation until final registration^[8]. Ask a lawyer how this works for a flat that has no folio of its own yet. More in whether a promise of sale protects you.

What the paperwork says about the delay#

The building permit is valid for six years, renewable once for two years^[5]. Renewal must be requested within 6 months of expiry, and the administration decides within one month. If the external facades are still unfinished when the permit expires, the owner has one year to finish them. After that, a yearly fine is imposed and registered on the folio as a privileged debt.

Any charge on the folio, such as a mortgage or a seizure, carries over to the buyer unless it is cleared first^[3]. A long delay is a good reason to check the folio again. Read more on whether the developer's bank or creditors can take the land.

When a delay becomes a police matter#

A late or stalled project is not fraud in itself. Kallas Law Firm lists acts that make a victim believe in a fictitious project among the manoeuvres covered by Art. 655 of the Penal Code^[6]. Kallas says fraud is punished by 6 months to 3 years in prison and is prosecuted without any need for a complaint from the victim. The same firm says it is settled case law that selling the same property twice is fraud.

If you suspect fraud, act quickly. Kallas says the limitation period for prosecution runs from the last payment, not from discovery^[6]. Here is where to report a property scam.