Dealing with Construction Permits in
Lebanon
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
LBP 614,868,522
- City: Beirut
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain a recent planning certificate
BuildCo must submit a recent planning certificate (they are usually valid for a month) among the necessary documents to request a building permit. BuildCo must have a receipt from the municipality and should pay the value of the stamps for this procedure.
Agency: Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 2 |
Obtain a topographic study
BuidCo needs to obtain a topographic study at the beginning of the construction in order to have accurate details about the levels and limitations of the land plot. This study is required for the construction permit application.
Agency: Topographic engineer
|
7 days
|
USD 500
|
| 3 |
Obtain approval of file by order of engineers (where engineer is registered) and pay duties to order
The file must be submitted to the Association of Engineers if the engineer is registered (Beirut Association of Engineers or Tripoli Association of Engineers). The file should include the following:
- A construction permit application signed by that same civil engineer or architect jointly with the real estate owner,
- The design plans,
- An agreement between the property owner and the architect or engineer responsible for the project described.
In order to be submitted as part of the application for a building permit, the file must bear the seal and registration number of the relevant Association of Engineers. The Association of Engineers meets twice a week.
A new fee schedule for the permit to start construction works from the Order of Architects and Engineers has been implemented in Beirut since 2010:
1 - For the area between 1 and 3,000m2, the cost is de 1,500LL per m2
2 - For the area between 3,001 and 6,000m2, the fee is 3,000LL per m2
3 - For the area between 6,001 and 9,000m2, the fee is 4,500LL per m2
4 - Above 9,001m2, the fee is 6,000LL per m2.
The cost is 1,950,000 LL.
Agency: Beirut Order of Engineers
|
4 days
|
LBP 1,950,000
|
| 4 |
Submit building permit application to Urban Development Department
BuildCo must submit the file described in the previous procedure to the Urban Development Department. In Beirut and Tripoli, the file is referred to the municipal engineering departments. The process takes up to 6 months. The Urban Development Department is a subdivision of the Directorate General of Urbanism.
Agency: Urban Development Department, Directorat Général d'Urbanisme (DGU)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 5 |
Receive pre–approval inspection from Urban Development Department
The Urban Development Department inspects the property and the plans to ensure that they are consistent with the construction laws and regulations, and then issues its clearance for the issuance of the building permit and calculates the building permit taxes. The inspection itself is completed in a day, but it usually takes 7–10 days from the date BuildCo requests the inspection until the date the inspector arrives.
Agency: Urban Development Department, Directorat Général d'Urbanisme (DGU)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 6 |
Pay building permit taxes to the municipality
The Urban Development Department refers the file to the relevant municipality (in the case of the city of Beirut, to the Administrator of the City of Beirut). The municipality collects the construction permit taxes and issues the construction permit in the name of the property owner. The Directorate General of Urbanism decides on the value per square meter and gives the approval. Payment is made at the municipality.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
LBP 21,939,427
|
| 7 |
Obtain building permit
By law, construction work can start if no decision about building permit application has been made 15 days after the submission date. In practice, however, this is not applied, and people wait 4 months on average.
Agency: Municipality
|
120 days
|
no charge
|
| 8 |
Obtain permit to start construction works from Order of Engineers
To start construction the engineer and/or architect must pay the dossier fee according to the number of professionals involved in the construction work (civil engineer, mechanic engineer, electrical engineer, geotecnichal engineer, among others). The fee should not exceed 200,000 LL.
Agency: Beirut Order of Engineers
|
3 days
|
LBP 200,000
|
| 9 |
Submit permit from Order of Engineers to the police
Agency: Police
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 10 |
Request and receive inspection from the Ministry of Public Works for water and sewage
With follow-up, it takes 10 days from the time an inspection is requested until an inspection begins. Without follow-up, however, the inspection might never take place. With some extra “tips,” the process could take only a day or two.
Agency: Ministry of Public Works
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 11 |
Request and receive inspection from the Ministry of Public Works for telephone
With follow-up, it takes 10 days from the time an inspection is requested until an inspection begins. Without follow-up, however, the inspection might never take place. With some extra “tips,” the process could take only a day or two.
Agency: Ministry of Public Works
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 12 |
Submit application to and obtain approval of an occupancy permit from the Order of Engineers
Following completion of construction, an application for approval of an occupancy permit must be submitted to the Association of Engineers and the Urban Development Department. The association must give a written and stamped approval first.
Agency: Beirut Order of Engineers
|
4 days
|
LBP 300,000
|
| * 13 |
Submit application for approval of an occupancy permit to the Department of Urban Planning
Once construction has been completed, an application for approval of an occupancy permit must be submitted to the Association of Engineers and the Urban Development Department. The Urban Development Department performs an on-site inspection of the building to ensure that it is in compliance with the construction permit and approved plans. The application for an occupancy permit must be accompanied by the plans related to the completed construction, signed by the engineer in charge, and stamped by the Association of Engineers. Following the clearance from the Urban Development Department, the file is forwarded to the relevant municipality (in the case of Beirut, to the Administrator of the City of Beirut) that will issue the occupancy permit in the name of the property owner. According to the new legislation, the occupancy permit must be issued within a month. However, this time limit is not enforced in practice.
Agency: Urban Development Department, Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 14 |
Receive on-site inspection by Urban Development Department
It takes about a week to schedule the inspection.
Agency: Urban Development Department, Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 15 |
Obtain occupancy permit from the Municipality
By law, the time limit for the procedure is 30 days, but in practice, it takes much longer to obtain the permit—about 58 days with follow-up.
Agency: Urban Development Department, Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGU)
|
58 days
|
LBP 25,000
|
| * 16 |
Obtain water connection
BuildCo must submit an application for water connection accompanied by various documents, including the occupancy permit.
Agency: Water Company
|
14 days
|
LBP 2,260,000
|
| * 17 |
Obtain phone connection
BuildCo must submit an application for telephone connection accompanied by various documents, including the occupancy permit.
Agency: Liban Telecom
|
12 days
|
LBP 210,000
|
| 18 |
Receive onsite inspection from the Ministry of Finance and obtain estimate of leasing value of the warehouse
Once the occupancy permit is issued, an inspector from the Ministry of Finance visits the site to prepare an estimate of the leasing value of the warehouse. This estimate in necessary to register the building.
Agency: Ministry of Finance
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 19 |
Register the building with the Real Estate Registry
Agency: Real Estate Registry
|
14 days
|
LBP 5,648,927
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.