The Lebanese Tenants’ Rights Commission has once again raised the alarm, accusing certain landlords and real estate developers of using “illegal methods, including threats,” to force families out of their homes.
In a statement on Thursday, the commission emphasized that tenants “are not illegal occupants,” but families who have paid rent, sometimes including departure indemnities, and maintained their apartments. “They are not responsible for the economic and financial collapse, of which they are among the first victims,” the statement stressed.
The commission also denounced “biased interpretations of laws” employed by some actors in the real estate sector, often supported by influential figures. It warned that nearly 200,000 families risk being left homeless, a situation worsened by the recent conflict, which destroyed thousands of residential and commercial units from southern Lebanon to Beirut.
The commission urged both the executive and legislative authorities to reopen the housing file in light of the economic upheaval since 2019 and to adopt a new rental law that guarantees “equal rights for owners and tenants.” It also encouraged affected families to prepare to defend their housing rights “by all available democratic means.”
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