Navigating the Rental Surge: Lebanon's Housing Dilemma in Times of Crisis

Report by Lara al-Hachem, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

 

Amid the perils of death and hardships of life, Aziza chose resistance with her husband, away from bombardment and the sounds of shells. 

Aziza is one of hundreds of displaced people to Nabatieh who were forced to rent a house without alternatives. 

They constitute 12% of the displaced in the governorate; 2% have headed to shelters, while the rest have had homes opened for them free of charge. 

Those forced to rent fell victim to the rental surge due to increased demand and decreased supply, not to mention crisis profiteers. 

This rental surge wasn't confined to the safe southern villages and towns but expanded to Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

It's a crisis unlike any we've seen, even in the July 2006 aggression. Today's circumstances differ from those of the past, as real estate broker and consultant Walid Moussa tells LBCI. 

In 2006, people opened their homes, and there was broader public consensus about the displaced; plus, the real estate sector hadn't entered a preparatory and anticipatory phase because the war was sudden and limited in duration. 

The surge receded as the war prolonged, prompting many to change their housing options. 

Demand for rentals declined, and prices returned to stability. However, stability doesn't mean a decline in rental prices; they are governed by more than one factor. 

Financial and social problems, coupled with an unforeseen war, will generate a housing crisis, especially in the absence of construction projects.