ACQUISITION OF REAL ESTATE RIGHT/ PROPERTY RIGHT
The Palestinian refugees’ right to real estate property (granting non-Lebanese the right to own real estate) remains one of LPDC’s main concerns, especially in light of the promulgation of the amendment of Law 296 dated 3/4/2001, published in the official gazette, issue 15, dated 5/4/2001, relevant to the acquisition of real estate rights by foreigners in Lebanon.
The above-mentioned amendment excluding Palestinians only from the right to own a residential apartment caused serious problems preventing Palestinians from their right to inherit properties and to register the sale transactions that occurred before the amendment and were not registered at the Register of Deeds for real estate properties, prior to the promulgation date of the amendment on acquisitions. The Register of Deeds’ counter clerks are still declining to register these rights. A group of MP’s from the Lebanese Parliaments reacted by undertaking the following steps:
- First, requesting to revoke the above-mentioned Law before the Constitutional Court, that declined the request by a resolution issued in May 10, 2001
- Second, submit a draft law proposal to amend the mentioned Law. The draft law was referred to the concerned parliamentary commissions as “fast-tracked” to be examined; it is still held there’re until this very moment.
On another note, LPDC is undertaking a legal study and coherent analysis related to the disparities stemming from the 2001 amendment:
- Compliance with the provisions of the international agreement approved by Lebanon;
- Compliance with the Constitutional provisions;
- Linking the Property right to settlement (Tawteen);
- The status of the sale transaction contracts and other non-registered transactions undertook before 2001;
- Issues related to inheritance;
- Impact of the camps’ demographic situation in light of the demographic expansion and growth.
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