private state property

Abandoning Public Rights to Protect Speculators:

The 2027 Budget in 10 points

The 2027 public budget draft provides no clear vision for addressing Lebanon’s ongoing crises, particularly displacement, housing, and reconstruction amid the ongoing Israeli aggression, with only limited allocations for relief and emergency response and continued reliance on external financing for reconstruction. At the same time, it continues to reinforce real estate oriented financial policies through measures such as reducing the tax on real estate capital gains and the land betterment tax, while state revenues from violations on public maritime land remain limited.This commentary examines the 2027 public budget plan through ten key points, looking at how spending priorities and tax policies affect the rights to housing, land, return, and reconstruction, and how the costs of these ongoing crises ultimately fall on society.

The Exemptions and Reconstruction Law: Not an Alternative to a Comprehensive National Plan

More than seven months after the ceasefire in Lebanon, on June 30, 2025, the Parliament passed the first law related to reconstruction in response to the Israeli war on Lebanon. Ultimately, the law is a limited step forward, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive national recovery plan for reconstruction.

At the Expense of Tyre and Its Environment: The Army’s Investment Project Raises Questions around Exemption, Influence, and Justice

فيما تعمل مدينة صور جاهدةً على التعافي من الحرب وإعادة الإعمار، يقوم متعهد نافذ بتنفيذ مشروع استثماري لصالح وزارة الدفاع – وهو عبارة عن نادٍ للضباط ومجمّع تجاري – على أراضٍ مملوكة للدولة ومحاذية لمحمية صور الطبيعية. يثير هذا المشروع اعتراضات واسعة النطاق وتحديات قانونية بسبب توقيته وموقعه وتأثيراته البيئية المحتملة.

Evacuation and demolition of shops in Burj al-Barajneh: a struggle between Planning and Social Marginalization

In January 2025, the Burj al-Barajneh municipality, backed by the Lebanese army and security forces, evicted and demolished informal shops, sparking resident protests. While the municipality claimed it was reclaiming public land, its move suggests an attempt to control the area’s informal economy.

 The Reconstruction Draft Law repeats the Mistakes of the past:

Reviving destroyed villages can’t happen only through buildings

After a ceasefire was implemented in Lebanon on November 27, the Lebanese government held a special session on December 7 in the southern city of Tyre and approved a draft law for rebuilding homes destroyed by Israeli attacks, as they were before. Regardless of its immediate issues in terms of content, it appears that the proposed law does not address the previous or emerging challenges we are facing and risks repeating the mistakes of past failed reconstruction experiences.

Three Million Euros to Rehabilitate the Mar Mikhael Station:

An Opportunity to Utilize Vacant State Properties for Wartime Needs.

مع استمرار العدوان الإسرائيلي، يزداد النزوح في لبنان بشكل سريع، ممّا يؤدي إلى كثافة عالية في مراكز الإيواء الرسمية. العديد من النازحين مضطرون للبقاء في العراء أو في سياراتهم، بينما تبقى أملاك الدولة شاغرة. تشير بيانات وزارة المالية إلى وجود 1285 عقاراً ملك الدولة في بيروت، مما يوفر فرصة لإيواء النازحين إذا تم إدراجها في خطة الطوارئ. من بين هذه الأملاك، تعتبر محطة قطار مار مخايل موقعاً مناسباً، خصوصاً بعد تلقّي الحكومة مؤخراً هبة إيطالية بقيمة 3.15 مليون يورو لإعادة تأهيلها.

Master-Planning in Lebanon: Manufacturing Landscapes of Inequality

How is urban planning practiced in Lebanon? What is the motive behind issuing master plans? And in what way do these plans violate fundamental rights? We tried during the years 2017 and 2018 …

Judicial decision to reclaim 3 public properties in Naqoura:

What about the other 13 plots?

On March 28, 2024, a judicial decision was issued ruling to reclaim 3 large-scale plots in the Southern town of Naqoura for the benefit of the Lebanese state, after one of the land …

The 2024 budget:

Rewarding property owners and speculators

This article discusses the 2024 budget in Lebanon, emphasizing the lack of substantial changes to rebuild the collapsing economy. The budget focuses on providing legal cover for state expenses without addressing existing policies, …

Once Again, the Lebanese Forces MPs Propose Privatization as a Solution to the Lebanese Crisis

A draft law proposing the creation of an independent institution responsible for managing state assets.

The law draft was submitted on 13/2/2023, and has not yet been referred to any parliamentary committee yet.

Distribution of Private State Property in Tripoli City, Mina and Beddaoui

The Lebanese State owns 481 properties in the city of Tripoli, the majority of which are located in the “Trablous jardins” and “Ez-Zeitoun” cadastral areas. In the adjacent city of Mina, the number …

Distribution of Private State Property in Saida City and its Surroundings

A significant number of state-owned lands designated for housing (154 properties) are located in the district of Saida. 124 of these properties are registered under the name of the National Authority for Reconstruction, …