How do I find the zoning and building ratios for a plot in Lebanon?

Also asked as: “How do I check what I can build on a plot in Lebanon?” · “Lebanon plot zoning and exploitation factor” · “Where do I find the master plan for land in Lebanon?” · “How many floors can I build on my land in Lebanon?”

Pin the plot down on paper first#

Zoning attaches to one specific plot, so make sure you are asking about the right one. A plot is identified by its governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[4,5]. The Land Registry is kept by property, not by owner: each property has its own folio under its survey number^[9]. If the seller cannot give you these numbers, here is how to find a property's number, zone and section.

With those numbers, get the Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh). According to Legalmondo (June 2025), the official one is issued only in person at the registry office for the property's area and costs USD 5^[5]. The fee may be collected in LBP, so confirm it with the registry office before going. Kallas Law Firm (October 2025) gives about 2 business days for a physical certificate^[7].

You do not have to go yourself. According to Legalmondo, property certificates are public and anyone may request one in person without showing a legal interest, though none is issued while a lien or a registration on the plot is still in process^[5]. An engineer or lawyer you hire can collect it for you. Copies through OMT or online are unofficial and cannot be used for a transaction or in court^[4,5,7,10].

The extract describes the plot and its area, lists the owners and their shares, and shows mortgages, seizures and pending court actions^[5,7]. The register records the right according to the land's legal type: full ownership on mulk land, a right of use and disposal (tasarruf) on amiri land^[2]. We have not seen how this appears on an extract, so ask the registry clerk or a lawyer which entry shows it.

Then see where it is on the ground#

Where the cadastral plan and the boundaries on the ground disagree, the plan prevails^[9,11]. The plot you walked may not be the plot on paper. According to LIBC (2021), the Cadastre oversees the sworn surveyors and engineers who measure land, but we found no source on how to order a cadastral plan or what a surveyor costs^[12]. More in getting a cadastral map or survey for a plot.

Sources disagree on how much of Lebanon is fully surveyed. LIBC (2021) says 50% is delineated and surveyed, UN-Habitat/GLTN (2024, citing a 2020 source) puts it at 65%, and The Monthly Magazine (2015) says about 54% has final cadastral surveys^[12,13,14]. Put together, roughly a third to a half of the country is not fully surveyed. For land that has not been finally surveyed, the extract may not show an area^[5,7].

What zoning tells you, and what we could not confirm#

A 2023 paper in the Journal of Planner and Development says the decrees implementing the Building Law define a surface exploitation factor and a total exploitation factor for a plot, with balconies adding up to 20% and external walls up to 35 cm^[1]. The factors themselves are set per zone in each area's planning rules, and we found no published figures for any zone. Ask your engineer to explain how each factor applies to your plot, and see the exploitation factor and how much you can build.

Other planning layers matter too. A plot not on an executed road, for example one affected by a planning project or needing the Higher Council of Urban Planning's opinion, gets up to 6 months for a permit decision instead of 2^[8]. Law 139/2019 covers violations built between 13 September 1971 and 31 December 2018^[15,16]. Under it, the administration keeps the right to demolish a building inside a road setback or an unexecuted approved road plan, even after the violation is settled^[15].

We found no source on how to check whether a road is reserved across a plot; see land reserved for a road or expropriated. Unclassified areas the master plan designates agricultural stay under the Higher Council of Urban Planning's rules, even for the small-house model-design regime^[17].

Who can tell you#

No source we read names the office or document that gives a plot's zone and ratios. The municipality and the General Directorate of Urban Planning are the likely places to ask, but this is not confirmed^[2]. A study of the Building Law lists three institutions involved in a building permit: Order of Engineers, General Directorate of Urban Planning and the municipality^[18].

Permit plans must be signed by a responsible engineer and registered with the Order of Engineers in Beirut or Tripoli^[8]. An engineer who works with one of those two Orders is therefore the most practical person to get the planning rules for you. Ask them to name, in writing, the document they relied on, its date and who issued it.