Buying, selling, or renting any real estate in the country, eventually leads you to the door of an office at the Ministry of Finance, which, in theory, holds a record of every property in the country, in terms of who owns it, where it is, and if it has been the subject of any legal disputes. As well as registering a transaction there, you can also obtain a copy of the records of any piece of real estate in the country, all for a nominal fee.

LAND REGISTRATION
The Directorate of Land Registration and Cadastre, based in Tabaris, keeps a record of land and property across the country: Who owns it, the specifications of the plot, buildings and facilities, and any outstanding disputes. All purchases, sales, leases and inheritance of land or real estate, as well as insurance applications, must be registered with one of the directorate's offices. The directorate was established in 1926 and is under the authority of the Ministry of Finance. In addition to the head office in Tabaris, there are branches in Riad Al Solh Square, Baabda, Jounieh, Zalka, Sidon, the Bekaa, and two branches in Tripoli. Each branch has the responsibility for a particular area of the country. Although there are records for most of the country, there are still areas that the government has yet to survey.

OWNERSHIP QUERIES
As well as registering properties, these offices can answer inquiries concerning the ownership of property. Anybody can make an inquiry about any piece of real estate and apply for a copy of ownership deeds. All the directorate needs is the location of the property. The application costs LL1,000 for processing and LL8,500 for the copy of the deed. The deed details the exact location, number, and size of the plot, who is the registered owner, if there are any disputes over ownership, or legal cases pending. Importantly, the deed also indicates if there is a compulsory government order on the property or, for example, if any roads are planned through the area. Although an agent or lawyer is usually asked to take care of the application process, anyone can do it. Computerization has made the application process much faster, encouraging many more people to apply directly.

HOW TO REGISTER
After agreeing to purchase a property, a buyer has two options concerning registration. The buyer and seller can both go to the public notary and sign a sales contract, which gives the buyer ten years to officially register the property. The second option allows the buyer to go directly to the local office of the directorate and register the sale immediately, after presenting a series of documents and paying a fee. Two essential documents required to register a property are the municipal and financial quietus. This is a set of legal documents indicating all municipal taxes on the property have been paid, and that there is no outstanding mortgage.
Registering a property can take up to three days, and is usually carried out by an agent. The agent will charge a fee of around $200, although in some cases it can be as high as $1,000. The difference usually depends on the complexity of the registration and the time taken by the agent. Some developers and engineers save buyers cash by offering to process the registration for them. This will cost both parties less, as applications can be processed in bulk, thus saving time and agents' fees.

OWNERSHIP DEED
A deed of ownership is a personal document. It is a proof of ownership of a property. The document contains information defining the size of the property and its exact location, with a duplicate of the information held in the national land survey office. The information includes the location of the plot with its allocated number, its total area, boundaries, and details of items on it such as construction, trees, terraces, and if it contains, for instance, a water source. The deed also contains the full name of the owner. The official name of the deed changes according to the location of the plot and its legal status. If a plot is measured, defined as private property, and its boundaries designated, the owner has the right to a deed of ownership or sanad tamlik. In some areas, the measurements of plots are not mentioned, and under these circumstances the landowner obtains a registration certification or shadat kaid mulkiah.
For areas where the borders of the plots are designated but await a final ruling from a real estate judge, the owner will obtain a real estate certificate or ifadah akariah. However, there are areas in Lebanon that have not been surveyed, where plots have no officially defined boundaries. Such areas cover 2,000 km2, making up about 20 percent of the country. In this case, property ownership can be proven through documents held by the mukhtars of these areas. Landowners receive a 'notification' from the mukhtar of the area indicating that they own a plot. This notification is as legitimate as any other deed of the ownership, except that it does not figure in any real estate department records, it exists only with the mukhtar. Any acquisition of property in these areas will remain registered in the mukhtar's records until the area is fully surveyed.

HOW TO OBTAIN A DEED
The procedure for obtaining a deed is easy, provided the applicant provides a purchase contract. The fees to obtain the deed are ratio fees of six percent of the deal for Lebanese citizens and 16 percent for foreigners. There is also a five percent municipality fee and a fixed cost (regardless of property type) of LL7,500 plus LL5,000 for fiscal stamps. Acquisition of property by inheritance is also set according to the contract procedure, but registration fees are replaced by inheritance fees. Only a fixed cost is paid together with LL5,000 for fiscal stamps. The money is paid to the Inheritance department in the Ministry of Finance, which gives the applicant a declaration that allows the execution of the operation.

PAYING PROPERTY TAXES
Each transaction, whether the buying or selling of property or land, entails certain taxes and fees to be collected by the government. According to the Ministry of Finance, paying property taxes and fees is the only guarantee to the purchaser that the property is finally his. The Ministry views property taxes as a form of registration fees, and the registration of a property safeguards the rights of the owner. The procedure starts when the contract of sale, verified by a public notary, is presented to the ministry. A total of 6.7 percent is charged. This includes a six percent registration fee, a municipality fee of 0.3 percent, 0.3 percent in stamp duties, and 0.1 percent in lawyers' fees. An additional ten percent, a so-called reconstruction fee, is charged to non-Lebanese owners. All the above are calculated on the declared selling price. For new buildings, the total rental value multiplied by 20 is used as the basis.

TYPES OF TAXES
A sales tax, paid by the buyer, is applied on buildings and apartments, as well as on land. Mortgage fees, which are one percent plus three percent stamp duties, are the responsibility of the bank handling the transaction. These two account for approximately three-quarters of the total tax collected. The mortgagee is accountable for the so-called mortgage release fees - again one percent - as well as partitioning fees of five percent. These apply to property with multiple ownership, which upon completion will be divided into individual units. The major shareholder of a property to be divided handles the exchange fee of six percent, paid in one installment. These taxes and fees apply to all property throughout Lebanon.

BUILT-UP PROPERTY
Taxes on built up property are incrementally variable from four to ten percent. For example, taxes in Beirut and Mount Lebanon contribute 80 percent of the revenue for the treasury, although these regions only represent 20 percent of the total area of Lebanon.