BUL:

Abir Zaatari, an urban planner and research coordinator at the Beirut Urban Lab (BUL), started the session by a presentation on the Housing Ecosystem study, with the main objective of complementing the following session/workshop, and understanding the institutional and regulatory frameworks in Lebanon organizing and affecting the housing topic, and that can be considered when thinking about solutions for the housing question. Abir highlighted that despite International pacts and laws including law no. 58/1965

admits that public entities or the State are responsible to facilitate access for low to mid-income families to adequate housing through a number of means, it was not reflected in the organizational and institutional structures on the ground specifically after the civil war. Moreover, it was not able to protect the right to housing and signed contracts. On the contrary, a weak and incoherent framework was created, which favored the investment of land at the expense of the right to housing.

Although regulations allow for local authorities to intervene in the housing sector, its validity follows a number of bureaucratic constraints, and it was limited to issuing housing permits. As for subsidized loans, the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH) tried to push toward housing policies broader than just providing loans. These policies were able to support a limited number of people to have access to housing. However, the majority of subsidized loans were outside public institutions in terms of value. As a result, there was a hegemony of real estate development after the civil war, without the ability to apply for affordable housing.

The study included a survey for all institutions impacting the housing sector in Lebanon, according to two axes, based on the level of authority and level of intervention in housing issues. A map was also created to show the effectiveness of the institutional structures for housing, due to housing policies being the result of applying policies by other sectors such as financial policies and the seek to attract external investments. Accordingly, institutional structures and decision-making were reorganized focusing on ownership and enabling the market in relation to housing, without responding to people’s needs. This resulted in informal settlements and informal rent as it provided the only way to access housing for a large portion of the urban community, with arrangements outside public institutions. Accordingly, housing in different areas lost the public nature of arrangements. Thus, a small portion of the community had the protection of the right to housing, but temporarily due to exceptional circumstances or popular pressure and demands, without guaranteeing the right to housing.

The study also included a survey of all laws and regulations, studies, and policies for the period between 1920 and 2020. Laws were classified according to the impact and the direction they push towards, either considering land as an asset or considering the social and productive value of the land. After the civil war, there was a focus on financial policies considering land as an asset. During the last 3 decades, incentives were provided for banks and investors to real estate speculation and to increase the value of land as an asset. These impacted regulations to redesign ownership laws and city strategies, through higher land exploitation, in addition to the support provided by the central bank through providing loans to developers.

However, several exceptions to laws occurred, but these exceptions provided unsustainable protection to tenants, with the State only trying to provide partial solutions tackling the housing topic in response to crises (for example, the public housing in response to the earthquake of 1956, or the compensations paid after the civil war).

While before the civil war, around 77% of the city dwellers were tenants, policies and regulations after the civil war were oriented toward the market, and incentives were provided for banks and investors to real estate speculation. This led to lands being treated as an asset, and resulted in a high rate of vacancy within the city.

Jad Tabet, Former President of OEA:

In his intervention, Jad Tabet, an architect, urbanist, and former president of the Order of Engineers and Architects highlighted the changes occurring before and after the 90s, end of the civil war. Before the 90s, renting was the main channel and the usual access to housing in the city. Housing remained absent from public policies. Even during the Chehabist1The era of President Fouad Chehab from 1958 to 1964. His era witnessed reform and creation of several public institutions such as urban planning, the Central Bank, the Lebanese University, the Social Security… Era, which may be the only reformist era in Lebanon, housing remained outside consideration.

The absence of housing policies was due to housing being linked to financial issues, with the economic system being built around the financial and real estate sectors, resulting in the absence of serious attempts to tackle housing.

To resolve housing issues, the State enacted exceptional laws, such as extensions of the old rent contracts. The absence of public housing policies led to failure, continuous extension for old rent contracts to adapt to the market, and informal housing. Moreover, there were different ways of intervention from the State, either directly through providing public housing or affordable housing, or through laws to organize the role of the private sector in housing (e.g., rent laws).

However, exceptions do not represent a solution. There is a need for a comprehensive policy to tackle housing, and there is no salvation but through public institutions, such as PCH, to do this role.

PCH:

Rony Lahoud, chairman and general Director of the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH), had also intervened. He explained that the State was absent in some areas and intervened in others in relation to housing. However, the State started considering housing after the Earthquake in 1956, through creating the national interest in reconstruction, the ministry of housing, the general directorate for housing, and the independent housing fund. It had some successes and some failures.

In 1996, the public corporation for housing was created to replace all four mentioned units.

PCH worked recently with OEA and BUL, to develop a comprehensive housing policy, that also covers rent laws, and unifies standards among institutions, and tackles housing not only through the lens of loans as it used to be. This housing policy is promising, but it is waiting to be enacted in the parliament.

Q&A:

At the end of the session, a Q&A slot was provided where attendees shared questions, interventions, and suggestions of potential means and considerations within the city, in terms of adaptation of existing vacant units including large area units, means of residency, encouraging tenancy due to its flexibility in accessing housing for families, the need for a ministry of planning, and carefully think exploitation ratios, and the active role required for local authorities, and their intervention in housing.

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    The era of President Fouad Chehab from 1958 to 1964. His era witnessed reform and creation of several public institutions such as urban planning, the Central Bank, the Lebanese University, the Social Security…