homelessness

The Case for a Comprehensive Right to Housing Law for Lebanon: Why It Matters and What It Aims to Achieve

Lebanon’s housing crisis stems from decades of speculation, weak policies, and state withdrawal from housing responsibilities. This policy brief presents the case for a holistic and inclusive right to housing law, as the drafting phase of the proposal begins in collaboration with Legal Agenda. Rooted in principles of social justice and spatial equity, the proposed legislation outlines measures like the state’s role in regulating housing and providing social housing, protection against eviction and homelessness, and addressing precarities of residents of informal areas.

The Impact of the Israeli War on Lebanon: The Housing Crisis Worsens and Enters a New Phase

This 2024 Housing Monitor annual report examines the impact of war and political convergences on Lebanon’s housing crisis, highlighting mass displacement, rising rents, the exclusion of non-Lebanese residents, and forced evictions.

Incitement Before the Crime: Syrians Displaced and Homes Burned in Al-Aaqbiya

Syrian refugees in the Tariq al-Maslakh neighborhood of Al-Aaqbiyeh are facing escalating threats and attacks, leading to the forced displacement of dozens of families. Risks continue to rise amid growing incitement and official inaction.

Under the Bombs: who supervises the work of NGOs working with the refugees?

Amid airstrikes in southern Lebanon, Walid and his family fled Nabatieh and entered a cycle of displacement. His story sheds light on systemic failures in addressing refugee needs by both the government and refugee aid organizations in time of war.

The Right to the city and to housing during wars

It is not possible to imagine a war that would displace one fifth of the population, destroying the suburb of Beirut as well as the country’s southern and eastern region, bombing Lebanon’s entire …

Shelter Distribution Reflects Religious, Class, and Regional Factors

Lebanon’s national emergency plan for mass displacement relied on shelters in schools located in safer areas, but their uneven geographic distribution created challenges, with many host towns and regions suffering from overcrowding. The imbalance, exacerbating regional inequality and pressure on infrastructure, underscored the need to a more equitable distribution of shelters.

The blame game over shelter responsibilities is playing out in a car parking in Saida

For over a month, around 700 Syrian refugees displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon have been living in a parking lot in Saida City. Stranded without alternatives, their situation remained unresolved until the property owner’s influence and the protection of private property rights prompted officials to take action—not to find a solution, but to evict them, leaving their fate uncertain.

Eviction in the war: Protecting Private Property, the Case of Hildon Hotel

Once again, we document the story of an abandoned building, the “Hildon Hotel” in Raouche, where around 600 displaced people, fleeing the Israeli war, sought refuge. Though the hotel owner’s son initially allowed them to stay, he later demanded their eviction, forcing them to leave without alternative housing. This case highlights the urgent need for government intervention, calling for the use of vacant properties as temporary housing and ensuring evictions follow legal procedures with suitable alternatives provided.

The Right to Housing: Immediate Measures for Providing Equitable Shelter

By October 2024, over 1.3 million people had been displaced in Lebanon as a result of the Israeli war. Despite the urgent need for state-led relief, the government’s efforts have largely fallen short, …

The Collapse of the Rishani Building in Chouaifat Exposes the Failures of the Owner, Municipality, and the General Directorate for Urban Planning

Just about a week after the complete collapse of a building in Sahra Chouaifat, another tragedy struck on Monday, February 19, 2024. The Rishani building in the Ain neighbourhood of Chouaifat collapsed on …

Collective evictions: The most prominent pattern in the Housing Monitor Report

Periodic Report | June - December 2023

This report covers cases received by the “Housing Monitor” from June to December 2023, documenting 345 cases, reaching a peak in August (143 cases). The majority of these cases originated from Syrian refugees …

Understanding Housing Transformations Amid Recent Events

This periodic report documents cases received by the “Housing Monitor” from January 2022 to May 2023. It emphasizes the correlation between recent escalating events and the number of monitored cases, totaling 563 reports, …