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3. 135 Million Dollars a Year: The High Cost of Lebanon’s State Rentals

Every year, the Lebanese state spends 135 million dollars to house its ministries, administrations, and public institutions in rented buildings across the country.
This astronomical sum could have been largely saved.

With better management of public finances, successive governments could have grouped several ministries under one roof, as is the case for the Ministries of Information and Tourism. The state could also have used its own real estate assets.

The 2018 budget planned the gradual construction of public buildings over three years at a total cost of 750 billion Lebanese pounds, roughly 500 million dollars at the time, based on an exchange rate of 1,507.5 L.L. per dollar.

However, the massive devaluation of the pound disrupted these plans. Today, rent is no longer the main burden on the Treasury. Maintenance costs have become the major issue.
Property owners now refuse to carry out exterior repairs required by the contracts, arguing that the rent no longer covers anything. Some have even taken legal action to force the state to vacate the buildings.

The problem today is different. It concerns public safety. Dilapidated or structurally weak public buildings pose a risk to employees and citizens who use them daily.

To understand the scale of the issue, the 2025 budget allocates 1,500 billion Lebanese pounds to expenses related to state-rented buildings, both in Lebanon and abroad.