Affordable housing is provided to every household in Lebanon and access to property is supported, encouraged and incentivized

Refurbish Lebanon’s urban environment in cities, towns and villages to make it livable, resilient and focused on residents’ wellbeing

A Clean, Preserved and Resilient Environment

1.The right to adequate housing is a human right recognized in international human rights law as part of the right to an adequate standard of living

2.The availability of affordable housing should be in proximity of mass transit and linked to job distribution

3.Through gentrification of older neighborhoods, rental prices increase rapidly as landlords find new residents willing to pay higher market rates for housing

4.Lack of affordable housing is considered by urban planners to have negative effects on a community's overall health and social cohesion

5.2% of the world population is homeless and 20% lack adequate housing

1.MN_237C4 in WVS: If 'borrow money', the loan was used for:  Household Purchases

2.Mortgage-to-income ratio (a third of the monthly income of an average homebuyer should be able to support a monthly mortgage payment for housing)

3.The Median Multiple indicator rates affordability by dividing the median house price by gross annual median income (WB)

4.Housing Affordability Index

1.49.5% of households access housing through tenancy (rent) in Beirut

2.Long-time residents (tenants and owners) account for 35% of Beirut’s residents, up to 60% in some neighborhoods, and have become an essential part of the city's life

3.Religious and/or civil institutions contribute to providing housing in some neighborhoods; however it is restricted by sectarian parameters

4.Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable; housing in Beirut is often more expensive than in cities like Paris, Tokyo, Rome, or Dubai, when considering mortgage-to-income ratio

5.Many citizens are forced to leave major cities, away from their job locations, in order to find affordable adequate housing

6.Long-time or original neighborhood residents face gentrification

7.The rate of evictions is very high, with an average rate of 200 cases of eviction in a block of 300 buildings

8.A high percentage of old and new apartments buildings are empty

9.The market lacks affordable smaller housing units, as most development projects offer large and luxurious apartments

1.Lebanon does not have a ministry of housing

2.The Lebanese state has been unable, since its inception, to put in place housing policies that promote access to adequate and affordable housing for all

3.There is a general lack of regulation of the real estate sector in Lebanon

4.Although demand for rentals is high, public policies are geared towards ownership, leaving the rental market severely unstructured; 2 renting systems coexists: a fixed rents system pre-1992 and a free rent system post-1992

5.There is an absence of taxes on capital gains on real estate in Beirut, except for those placed on firms which enables developers to engage in easy speculation (quickly investing in land only to sell it right away)

6.The increase in real estate prices over the last decade has been accelerating at much higher rates than the increase in real income for most working residents

7.It is difficult for people with limited and middle income, who make up the majority of residents, to meet the conditions required to gain access to housing loans. Furthermore, interest rates on loans high are, even when they are subsidized

8.Corruption and mismanagement of Banque de l’Habitat leads to granting housing loans to affluent and politically connected individuals to the detriment of those who have limited or average income

1.1962: The issuance of the Law “Facilitating the Housing of Indigent Persons and People of Low Income and Limited Income” (or the so-called Housing Law) which was  amended in the year 1965 under Law No. 58/1965

2.1973: Establishment of the General Directorate of Housing

3.1975: Establishment of the Housing Bank

4.1994: Privatization of the Housing Bank

5.2000: Closing of the Ministry of Housing

6.2014: The New Rent Law calls for a gradual liberalization of old rent contracts

7.Lebanese constitutional council’s decision No. 6/2014: the right to adequate housing based on international legislation imposes a duty on public authorities to adopt social and economic public policies in housing

8.Lebanese constitutional council’s decision No. 3/2017 : "providing housing for the citizen is a goal of constitutional value, the legislative and procedural authorities should draw up policies and set laws to achieve this goal"

9.Establishment of a special housing fund whose accounts are maintained in the MoF

10.Post civil war: The central bank allowed banks to use their mandatory reserves to lend those wishing to purchase a home in Lebanese pounds in exchange for the banks returning these funds to the central bank in dollars

11.2018: Central Bank issued Circular 503/2018, which regulated the use of banks for mandatory reserves and led to the suspension of housing loans

12.Circular 545 issued by BDL in February 2020 reducing the interest rate imposed on subsidized housing loans

Policy Action

1.Explore policies like usufruct practices, density bonuses, inclusionary planning, etc. (Institutional change)

• Regulate and subsidize usufruct practices (Taxes and subsidies)
• Offer density bonuses to developers to increase the maximum allowable development on a site, in exchange for helping the community achieve affordable housing public policy goals (Taxes and subsidies)
• Support municipalities willing to establish voluntary inclusionary zoning (Taxes and subsidies)
• Provide incentives to private developers to incorporate affordable or social housing as a part of market driven developments (Taxes and subsidies)

2.Invest in the stock of empty apartments for Beirut's affordable housing landscape (Service provision)

3.Provide public housing to the underprivileged (Service provision)

4.Develop social housing (through both fiscal measures and public-private partnerships)

5.Facilitate credit access to developers for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households (Service provision)

6.Draft a new law regarding rents and leasing (Institutional change)

7.Increase taxes on real estate for foreigners to limit their access  to the real estate market (Taxes and subsidies)

8.Grant tax exemptions on rent income, and impose taxes on vacant apartments to reduce the number of vacant residential apartments (Taxes and subsidies)

• Impose taxes on vacant properties, which may encourage homeowners to sell or rent them
• Reduce purchase registration fees for apartments less than 150 square meters, which are sought after by young people
• Reduce municipal fees on rental of apartments less than 150 square meters.