Arabic-language reference guide to residential tenancy in Lebanon — the free-market regime (Code of Obligations & Contracts) and the OLD-rent regime (pre-1992) being phased out by the 2014/2017 New Rent Law. General legal information, not legal advice — statute numbering and the current phase-out status are uncertain; verify with Lebanese counsel.
Lebanon splits leases at 23 July 1992. New leases follow the Code of Obligations & Contracts, with a 3-year implied protection (Art. 543). Old (pre-1992) leases were rent-frozen under the 1992 Rent Acts and are being liberalized over a 9–12 year transition by the 2014/2017 reform, with compensation tied to property value. Eviction always requires a court order and is notoriously slow; the post-2019 crisis has severely distorted old rents.
