Lebanon

Legal Periodic Report

Defending Housing Rights in the Midst of Rent Dollarization

The Housing Monitor publishes its 3rd legal report, detailing legal interventions conducted by the Right to Housing Legal Task Force between December 2021 and January 2022.  This report – published in Arabic –  documents the …

Alerts Periodic Report

December 2021 – January 2022

In parallel with this report, we are also publishing a report on the Monitor’s legal and community interventions that were developed with the purpose of protecting the housing rights of callers documented here. …

From Dossier Research-Based Article

Where are the State’s Lands?

In this article, we delve into the texts of laws, decrees, and records from the Ministry of Finance. Our aim is to shed light on the nature of public property, its geographical distribution, and its social significance.

Dossier

Mapping State-Owned Land Against Privatization

In Lebanon, the state owns a substantial part of the territory, estimated to range between 20 and 25 per cent of the country’s total surface area. These publicly owned properties – the unbuilt ones – constitute our natural and ecological environment. They are a national asset directly linked to our ways of life and diverse livelihoods across Lebanese regions. Yet these public properties are the newest target of privatization through multiple government plans.
In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?

From Dossier Research-Based Article

Residents Facing Land Consolidation and Parcellation Projects:

The Example of El-Tanak Neighborhood in Mina

In this article, our focus revolves around the Land Consolidation and Parcellation projects in the cities of Tripoli and Mina in North Lebanon. We examine their influence on the economic and urban identity …

Law Commentary

“Strong Lebanon” MPs: Proposing a Law Which Excludes Relatives from the Provisions of Freezing the Sale of Real Estate Properties does not Threaten the “Sectarian Identity” of the Areas Affected by the August 4 Port Explosion 

Proposing an accelerated law aimed at amending the second paragraph of Article 3 of Law No. 194 (Protecting the areas impacted by the explosion in the port of Beirut and supporting their reconstruction).

It was presented to the Parliament session on February 20-21, 2022

Dossier

Tripoli: Who Took Away Our Land?

In this series of articles, we investigate how the authorities handled the cases of both the riverine and maritime Tripoli (i.e., the Mina), and the implications of their policies on people’s housing rights, …

Study

Homelessness in the Wake of the Disaster

Housing conditions in the neighborhoods affected by the Aug.4 2020 Beirut blast

The Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port blast killed 217 people, injured 7,000 others, and displaced some 300,000 people, causing widespread devastation and leaving no less than 1,120 buildings in need for renovation, notably in the neighborhoods closest to the blast site. To date, it is estimated that only 30% of the residents of Beirut’s affected neighborhoods have actually returned to their homes.

Legal Periodic Report

Resolving Rental Disputes: Legal tools adopted by the Housing Monitor to mitigate landlord-tenant conflicts

Based on Housing Monitor Report of July-August 2021 During July and August, the Housing Monitor followed up on 40 cases of housing vulnerabilities, affecting a total of 188 individuals. This report aims to …

Legal Periodic Report

Forming Social Support Networks:

Alternative Approaches to Resolving Housing Disputes

Based on the Housing Monitor report for the months of September, October and November 2021 During September, October and November, the Housing Monitor tracked 46 cases of housing precarity, affecting a total of …

Project

Ground to Dust: Systems of Extraction and the Search for Spatial Justice

This exhibition at Beirut Art Center is Public Works Studio’s first institutional presentation. Rather than approach the format of the exhibition with any kind of finality, PW has created a site as unstable …

Law Commentary

Azm Movement Proposes Approving a New Loan from the World Bank to Modernize the Lebanese Land System

A request for approval to conclude a loan agreement between the Republic of Lebanon and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to execute the land system modernization project.

It was placed on the agenda of the 21-22/4/2020 session, but it was withdrawn by the government following the International Bank’s retraction of the loan due to the emerging circumstances.