Can I pay for a property in Lebanon in lollars, or only in fresh dollars?

Also asked as: “Fresh dollars Lebanon” · “Lollar Lebanon” · “Can I buy an apartment in Lebanon with lollars?” · “Do Lebanese sellers accept bank cheques for property?”

Fresh dollars and lollars: what the words mean#

"Fresh dollars" means money that is really available to you. JSK Real Estate, a Beirut broker, uses the term for payment in cash banknotes or by bank-to-bank transfer outside Lebanon^[6]. That is one broker's working definition from 2023. We could not read the Banque du Liban circulars that set out the fresh-account categories. There is more in what "fresh dollars" means.

"Lollars" are the dollars held in Lebanese bank accounts from before the 2019 crisis. AGBI reported in October 2023 that, since 2021, holders could withdraw only small amounts, often at a haircut that at its peak cut about 80% of the face value^[7]. The same report says Banque du Liban Circular 679 bars banks from charging commissions introduced after 31 October 2019 on dollar deposits made before 3 September 2019. We could not confirm whether that circular is still in force in 2026.

Do sellers take lollars or bankers' cheques?#

According to JSK Real Estate (January 2023), many sales in 2020-21 closed with bankers' cheques drawn on trapped deposits, but by 2022 the vast majority were paid in real dollars^[6]. In January 2026, R.E.A.L president Walid Moussa told The Beiruter that 2025 buying was concentrated among Lebanese expatriates, some local investors and people holding cash. Libnanews wrote in October 2026 that buyers with fresh dollars can still buy, while buyers tied to old deposits cannot^[1,2].

No 2026 source says whether sellers accept lollars or cheques today, or at what discount. If you hold lollars, ask the seller directly and get any offer in writing, with the discount stated. Ask your bank what it charges to issue a cheque or move the funds. More on buying with a bank cheque and the discount sellers apply.

Paying in fresh dollars: cash or transfer#

Sellers differ on how they want fresh dollars. JSK Real Estate says some sellers want payment into an account outside Lebanon while buyers hold cash in Lebanon, or the reverse, and that a seller who accepts either method is much more likely to close^[6]. The same broker says that withdrawing a full sale price in cash from a Lebanese fresh-dollar account carried very high commissions. It gives no figure, so ask the bank for its current fee schedule.

If you carry cash into Lebanon, Law 42 of 2015 requires a written declaration to customs when it exceeds USD 15,000 or its equivalent^[8]. Check the current rule with Lebanese Customs before you travel: another source gives a different threshold, and a Cabinet decision on border cash declarations has been reported that we could not read. Remittance apps are built for small sums. As of October 2026, Taptap Send's limit via Whish is USD 5,000 per transfer and per month^[9]. Compare the options in sending money to Lebanon for a property and cash or bank transfer.

Expect questions about where the money came from. Under Law 44/2015^[8], brokers, notaries and lawyers must apply due-diligence duties when they handle property sales. Covered institutions must keep identification records for at least five years. The law does not list which documents a buyer must show, so ask your notary early what they will want.

If you use a BDH loan#

Banque de l'Habitat states that its loan is paid in fresh US dollars in cash only^[3,4,5], and Beirut.com reports that it is granted and repaid in US dollars. BDH pays the seller directly, and only once ownership is registered in your name and the bank holds the new title deed and a first-degree mortgage certificate^[3,4]. No source says whether instalments can be paid by transfer from a bank abroad. Ask BDH, and see repaying a BDH loan in fresh dollars.