How much does a building permit cost in Lebanon?
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Short answer
We found no published price list. The fees depend on the permitting authority's certified estimate of your plot's land value, which it must give you within one month of registering the application[1], and the permit is issued only after all fees are paid. Small model-design houses get 50% off permit and municipal fees[2]. Ask the municipality and your engineer for a written estimate before you commit.
Also asked as: “Building permit fees in Lebanon” · “Cost of a building permit for a house in Lebanon” · “How are municipal building permit fees calculated in Lebanon?” · “How much does it cost to build legally on my land in Lebanon?”
Law 294/2022, which halves permit fees for small model-design houses, is in force for five years from 21 April 2022[2]. We found no extension, and none is confirmed. This page covers what was published up to 17 October 2026.
Key facts
- Published fee schedule
- None found. The fees rest on a certified estimate of the plot's land value[1]
- Land-value estimate due
- within one month of registering the application[1]
- Who issues the permit
- the head of the municipality, or the governor or caimacam outside municipal areas[1]
- When you pay
- Before the permit is issued. It comes only after technical approval and payment of all fees[1]
- Legal deadline to decide
- 2 months on an executed road, 6 months otherwise[1]
- Validity
- six years, renewable once for two years[1]. Renewal is free if the permitted area does not grow
- Model-design houses
- 50% off permit and municipal fees[2] for houses of at most 2 floors, 250 m² total, 150 m² per floor, 7.5 m high
What the permit fee is based on
We found no fee per square metre in the Building Law, Law 646/2004[1]. Article 4 requires the authority to give you a certified copy of the approved estimate of your plot's land value within one month of registering the application. Your fees rest on that estimate, so you only get an official figure after you file. A number from a broker or a contractor is not official.
If the authority refuses to give you the estimate, you may pay the fees you believe are due, at your own responsibility. The account is then settled before the occupancy permit[1]. That leaves room for a bill later on, so talk to your engineer before you use this route.
We found no fee schedule, no rate per square metre and no worked example from any municipality. We found no published rates. Ask the municipality where the plot lies, and the engineer who will sign your plans, for a written estimate.
The other costs in a permit file
The permit fee is only one cost. The law requires several other items, and we found no published price for any of them.
| Cost item | What the law requires | Published amount |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer | Application and plans signed by a responsible engineer and registered with the Order of Engineers in Beirut or Tripoli[1] | Not found |
| Soil study | A soil-bearing study from a specialised soil-investigation office[1] | Not found |
| Parking | A car park in every new building, provided in kind or replaced by a fee recorded on the plot's real folio[1] | Not found |
| Pouring permits | No slab or roof may be poured without a pouring permit signed by the responsible engineer[1] | Not found |
A parking replacement fee can be reclaimed if no car park is provided within 8 years[1]. A 2018 BAU Journal article names three bodies involved in a permit: the Order of Engineers, General Directorate of Urban Planning and the municipality[3]. We could not reach the Order of Engineers' own website, so its fees are not sourced here. Ask your engineer for the Order's charges in writing. More on the engineer's job is in what the Order of Engineers does in a permit.
Model-design houses: half the fees
Law 294/2022 gives 50% off permit and municipal fees[2] to houses built to the official model designs. The house may have at most 2 floors, 250 m² total, 150 m² per floor, 7.5 m high, and basements are banned. Each owner can use the scheme only once. The permit lasts two years, renewable once for two years.
The scheme does not apply everywhere. Governorate centres and main cities are excluded, and so are archaeological and tourist areas, nature reserves, and landslide and flood zones[2]. Details are in the model-design permit discount.
What building without a permit costs
Skipping the permit costs more than the fee. Work started without a permit is stopped. If it conforms to the planning and building rules, the permit is granted with a fine of twice all the fees due[1] on the part already built, and work that does not conform must be demolished. The fine and fees are a privileged debt on the property, and the municipality gives no clearance until they are paid and the violation is settled.
The violation is recorded on the plot's real folio at the request of the municipality or the technical administration, and struck off only once it is settled or removed[1]. Because recording depends on that request, a clean extract does not prove there is no violation. Ask the municipality as well, and have an engineer compare the building with the permit plans.
An unfinished shell also costs money. If the external facades are not finished when the permit expires, you have one year to finish them. After that a fine of 15% of the permit fees per year[1], at the current estimate, is imposed on the unfinished facade works and registered on the folio as a privileged debt. For older buildings, see whether a building without a permit can be legalised.
How to get a real figure before you commit
- Pin down the plot on paper. Get an official Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) at the registry office for the area where the plot lies[4,5]. You give the plot's governorate, district, real estate zone and property number, plus the section and block where they apply[5,6]. Legalmondo (June 2025) says the official certificate is requested only in person and costs USD 5[5]. We could not check the official fee table, and the fee may be collected in LBP. Legalmondo also says certificates are public and anyone may request one, so a person you trust in Lebanon can go for you. Kallas Law Firm (October 2025) gives about 2 business days for the paper certificate[7]. Copies online or through OMT are for reference only, and any transaction needs the official certificate[5,6,7,8]. The extract shows the owner, mortgages and restrictions[9,10]. According to Kallas Law Firm, where boundaries on the cadastral plan differ from those on the ground, the plan prevails (Decree 188/1926 Art. 8)[9,11]. See how to get a cadastral map or survey before you design anything.
- Find out what you may build. A 2023 academic paper says the Building Law's implementing decrees (15874/2005 and 617/2007) define a surface and a total exploitation factor for a plot[12]. The figures are set per zone in each area's planning rules, and no source we read gives them for any zone. Kallas Law Firm advises checking the municipal master plan as well[13]. No source names the office that gives a plot's zoning. The municipality and the General Directorate of Urban Planning (DGU) are the likely places to ask, though this is not confirmed. More in how to find a plot's zoning.
- Hire a responsible engineer. The application and plans must be signed by a responsible engineer and registered with the Order of Engineers in Beirut or Tripoli[1]. Ask the engineer for a written quote covering the Order's charges, the soil-bearing study and parking.
- Have the application registered. Your engineer signs the application and plans, and they are registered with the Order of Engineers. The permit itself is issued by the head of the municipality, or by the governor or caimacam outside municipal areas[1]. We found no published source on the exact office where you file or the full document list, so ask your engineer and the municipality. Keep the registration date: the certified land-value estimate is due within one month of registering the application. We also found no source on whether someone can file for you under a power of attorney if you live abroad. Ask the municipality before you send papers.
- Pay and collect the permit. The permit is issued after technical approval and payment of all fees[1]. Keep every receipt. If the technical administration misses its deadline, the law lets you apply within 6 months after the deadline lapses, declaring yourself implicitly licensed and attaching the fees due. No source covers the risks of relying on this, so ask a lawyer and your engineer first. The full process is in the steps to get a building permit.
- Keep the permit alive. The permit lasts six years, renewable once for two years[1]. Renewal must be requested within 6 months of expiry, and the administration decides within one month.
It depends on
- Where the plot is. The municipality issues the permit inside municipal areas, and the governor or caimacam outside them[1]. The technical administration must decide within 2 months on an executed road, 6 months otherwise. Other departments have 15 days, after which their approval is implicit. Ask that office for its own fee calculation.
- What you build. A small house built to a model design gets 50% off permit and municipal fees[2] if it stays within the limits. A house outside those limits pays the normal fees.
- Parking. You may provide the car park in kind or pay a replacement fee recorded on the real folio, and the fee amount is not published[1]. Ask your engineer to price both.
- New build or renovation. Maintenance and renovation of a lawful building need only a declaration signed by a responsible engineer and endorsed by the Order of Engineers, valid one year[1]. Structural changes and additions need a full permit.
Common questions
Is there a fixed price per square metre for a building permit in Lebanon?
We found no published one. The fees rest on the authority's certified estimate of the plot's land value, which it must give you within one month of registering the application[1].
What if the municipality will not give me the land-value estimate?
You may pay the fees you believe are due, at your own responsibility, and the account is settled before the occupancy permit[1]. Ask your engineer or a lawyer before you take this route.
How long does a building permit last in Lebanon?
A building permit lasts six years, renewable once for two years[1]. Renewal is free if the permitted area does not grow, and it must be requested within 6 months of expiry.
Does the model-design fee discount still apply?
Law 294/2022 runs for five years from 21 April 2022[2]. We found no extension as of 17 October 2026. Ask the municipality or the DGU before you plan around it.
Sources
Checked against these sources. The numbers in the text point here.
- 1.Law 646 of 16/12/2004 (Building Law), amending Legislative Decree 148 of 16/09/1983
Lebanese Republic, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU) · 16 Dec 2004 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 2.Law 294 of 14/4/2022: temporary reduction of fees for some building permits built to model designs
Lebanese University Legal Informatics Center (DGU copy of Law 294/2022) · 14 Apr 2022 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 3.Building Permit: A Critical Review of the Legal Framework in Lebanon (abstract)
BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing (Beirut Arab University, Digital Commons) · undated · read 17 Oct 2026
- 4.Inheritance in Lebanon: Probate, Estate Declaration and Inheritance Tax (2026)
Kallas Law Firm · 27 Jun 2022 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 5.How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Lebanon
Legalmondo · 17 Jun 2025 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 6.OMT: Viewing Title Registers (Land Registry service page)
OMT (Online Money Transfer S.A.L.) · undated · read 17 Oct 2026
- 7.Lebanon Asset Search: How to Find Real Estate and Company Ownership Records
Kallas Law Firm · 25 Oct 2025 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 8.Viewing Title Registers Electively Through OMT
OMT (Online Money Transfer S.A.L.) · 13 Oct 2020 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 9.The Land Registry in Lebanese Law — Part Six of the Practical Guide to the Code of Real Property
Kallas Law Firm · 25 May 2026 · read 16 Oct 2026
- 10.How to Buy Property in Lebanon: The Legal Steps from Verification to Inscription
Kallas Law Firm · 9 Jun 2026 · read 16 Oct 2026
- 11.Land Delimitation and Registration Works in Lebanese Law — Part Seven of the Practical Guide to the Code of Real Property
Kallas Law Firm · 25 May 2026 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 12.Lebanese building law between texts, application gaps and land scarcity
Journal of Planner and Development (JPD), Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies, University of Baghdad · 1 Feb 2023 · read 17 Oct 2026
- 13.Definition of Real Property and Types of Ownership in Lebanese Law (Part One of the Practical Guide to the Code of Real Property)
Kallas Law Firm · 25 May 2026 · read 17 Oct 2026
Related questions
- What are the steps to get a building permit from the municipality in Lebanon?You need a prior permit, signed by a responsible engineer and issued by the municipality. The steps, deadlines, documents and what is not published.
- Is there a building permit fee discount for small model-design houses in Lebanon?Yes: Law 294/2022 halves permit and municipal fees for houses built to official model designs, up to 2 floors and 250 m². Who qualifies and the deadline.
- What does the Order of Engineers do in a building permit in Lebanon, and why do I need an engineer?No permit without an engineer: Law 646/2004 requires plans signed by an engineer and registered with the Order. What the Order does, step by step.
- How do I find the zoning and building ratios for a plot in Lebanon?No office is published for it: get the plot's extract, then have an engineer check the master plan and exploitation factors. Steps and what to ask.
- What should I check before buying land in Lebanon?Get an official Land Registry extract for the exact plot first, then check shares, land type, survey status, zoning and fees. Steps for buyers abroad.
- Can a building built without a permit be legalised in Lebanon?Often yes, if it conforms, for a multiple of the permit fees. Whether Law 139 still takes files in 2026 is unconfirmed. Costs, sale effects, steps.
- How do I get a cadastral map or survey for a plot in Lebanon and confirm its boundaries?Get an official extract, then ask the Cadastre and a sworn surveyor; the certified plan beats the ground. Unsurveyed land, shares and deadlines explained.
- What if the municipality does not answer my building permit application?If no decision comes within 2 or 6 months, Law 646/2004 lets you declare yourself implicitly licensed. Deadlines, the filing, fees and the open risks.
