vulnerability

Article Law Commentary

A Proposal to Address Building Collapses:

Filling the Legal Void Does Not Replace the State 

Building collapses in Lebanon are no longer isolated incidents, but the result of a long accumulation of neglect and the state’s retreat from its responsibilities toward public safety. The latest draft law proposed by deputy Ihab Matar seeks to establish a mechanism for addressing structurally damaged buildings by organizing roles and relying on incentives and private financing rather than developing a comprehensive public policy. Yet when rehabilitation is tied to economic feasibility and investment opportunities, the question remains: what kind of city is being shaped, and for whom is it being rebuilt or renovated?

Petition

Joint Letter to Stakeholders Addressing the Displacement Crisis:

Housing Is a Right That Cannot Be Postponed

Hundreds of displaced families continue to seek shelter in public spaces, under difficult conditions, while other families are forced to negotiate or open vacant doors on their own to avoid sleeping in the …

Project

A Comprehensive Law for the Right to Housing in Lebanon

In 2023, Public Works Studio launched a project for a comprehensive draft law for the right to housing in Lebanon. The project is a radical approach to addressing the housing crisis and its accumulations over the past decades, and is proposed as a tool capable of securing the diverse needs of a variety of social groups, especially the elderly, persons with disability, students, workers, families, and others. The project is rooted in a participatory methodology, and throughout its phases engaged in consultations with residents from marginalized communities, civil society institutions, and experts, whose ownership of the proposal is a pillar for the project’s success.

Law Commentary

The Suspension of Deadlines in the Absence of Housing Protection: A Legislative Loophole in Times of War

The suspension of deadlines in times of war is a key tool for protecting rights. However, excluding lease agreements from it undermines this protection and exposes tenants to the risk of eviction and homelessness. In the context of widespread displacement and declining ability to pay, the right to housing cannot be separated from any serious legislative response to the crisis. Including leases within the scope of suspended deadlines is not a technical detail, but an urgent necessity to ensure a minimum level of social protection under exceptional circumstances.

Statement

Open the Empty Buildings – Public and Private- and Apply Rent Control

Thousands of displaced families are sleeping on the Corniche sidewalks, the beach, and in public squares, left without shelter. This situation is a direct result of the government’s shortcomings in its plan to accommodate the growing number of displaced people, exacerbated by Israel’s orders to evacuate more than 80 towns in the south and all of southern Beirut.

We are here to reiterate the following options for effectively responding to the escalating displacement crisis, in light of the evolving security situation and the imperative to guarantee the right to housing, which is being violated on an unprecedented scale during wars.

Law Commentary

Two Complementary Draft Laws to Strengthen the Right to Housing

On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, MP Halima Al-Qaqour, along with a number of MPs, submitted two draft laws to the Speaker of Parliament. The first, an amendment to the old residential lease law, …

Research-Based Article

Is there anything left to say about Hayy el Tanak?

This article looks at Hayy el Tanak in Tripoli, not as an example or proof of randomness or disorganization, but rather as a question about the meaning of a neighborhood; for the neighborhood is not a product of chance or an architectural sin. It is, in fact, a testament to the architecture of exclusion.

Investigation

Where is the Fund? On old tenants’ struggles with applications to the rent support fund

Field documentation reveals how misinformation and discretionary practices in public administrations have blocked old tenants from applying to the rent support fund and protecting their housing rights.

Investigation

Removing encroachments from the Litani riverbed:

Water protection is a priority, but who protects the housing rights of the refugees?

The text reviews the Litani River Authority’s removal of what it classifies as “encroachments” along the river and the resulting pressures on Syrian displaced communities in the Beqaa. It highlights the tension between protecting water resources and safeguarding the housing rights of vulnerable groups.

Field Watch

Eviction of Camp “044” in Ghazzeh–Bekaa: Between Protecting the Litani and Undermining the Right to Housing

In September 2025, the Litani River Authority ordered the eviction and dismantling of Camp 044 in Ghazzeh, West Bekaa. Citing environmental violations and the need to remove encroachments from the river course, this action is part of a larger campaign targeting over 34 Syrian refugee camps. This text documents the eviction, its repercussions, and its impact on the fundamental right to housing.

Dossier

“Reconstruction in Lebanon: Experiences and Lessons”

Lebanon, and particularly the South, Beirut, and the Bekaa, is experiencing massive destruction of its infrastructure, buildings, spaces, and social and urban fabric as a result of the recent Israeli war. This has …

Narrative

 The New Rent Law Threatens to Dissolve a Neighborhood: The Eviction of a Building in Burj Hammoud

In Burj Hammoud, old tenants face eviction from their decade-long homes as Lebanon’s old rent law nears its end. Their story reveals the legal gaps in law 2/2017 and how unaffordable rents threaten entire communities.