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On December 26, 2023, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati signed eleven out of fourteen laws approved by Parliament on December 14 and 15. He withheld his signature from the remaining three laws, citing the need to review them at the next Cabinet session to explore constitutional options. The General Directorate of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers did not clarify in its statement the reasons for not signing these three laws, which have faced objections from various social groups. Two of the unsigned laws concern private school teaching staff: one provides financial assistance to the compensation fund for teachers, and the other deals with regulations regarding teaching staff and school budgets. The third unsigned law amends the non-residential rental law, which has generated significant opposition from different small business owners and office tenants, including medical clinics, lawyers’ offices and small businesses.
To date, the Cabinet presidency has not published the new non-residential rental law in the Official Gazette. Property owners view Mikati’s decision as a breach of constitutional provisions, given that he returned the law to Parliament, despite the Cabinet’s approval to enact all referred laws in the absence of a president. This is despite a preliminary decision by the State Council to halt the implementation of the rejection decree. Mikati’s ongoing refusal to publish the law contradicts the consensus of all legal and constitutional experts, who have acknowledged the invalidity of this action.
In a significant development regarding the non-residential rental dossier, Judge Stephany Robert Saliba of the Metn district has ruled that a defendant, who is a tenant, must vacate two disputed premises and return them to his landlord, imposing a daily financial penalty for any delay. Judge Saliba concluded that the tenant’s use of the premises lacked legal justification, as the lease extensions for contracts made before 1992 expired on June 30, 2022, and no new legislation extended these contracts. As a result, the leases are now subject to the principle of freedom of contract. This ruling is the first of its kind in Mount Lebanon and the second in Lebanon, following a similar decision by the rental judge in the north, who also ordered eviction and the return of the property to the landlord after the legal extension ended in 2022, due to the absence of a new law over two years later.
Property owners’ circles view this ruling as an impetus to pursue legal action to reclaim their properties, as tenants are occupying them without proper legal basis. With no law currently regulating non-residential leases and Parliament having yet to address the three laws rejected by Mikati, this has resulted in a legislative void. This gap, caused by the caretaker prime minister’s actions, has led to a legal vacuum in non-residential rentals and has resulted in eviction rulings for tenants. The new law could have offered a four-year lease extension with gradual rental increases for non-residential properties.
Tenant committees have voiced their opposition to the ruling, citing the legislature’s intention to pass a new law. However, property owners argue that this objection holds no legal or judicial weight as long as Mikati continues to withhold the publication of the law. In addition, Parliament has yet to meet to ratify the new legislation and then discuss potential amendments, should the parliamentary blocs decide to do so. This has generated a complex situation where everyone has put the responsibility on the judiciary, which adjudicates based on the current legal and rights framework, regardless of the outcome. Meanwhile, experts and lawyers advocate for their respective interests, leaving the state as the ultimate and final authority responsible for resolving the matter.
