Buying a home in Lebanon from abroad: power of attorney, money and timing

You can buy a home in Lebanon without being there: you give someone in Lebanon a power of attorney (وكالة) to sign and register the purchase in your name. A special one costs a flat fee at a Lebanese embassy or consulate, $50 in Washington or €44 in The Hague, and the registry accepts it for five years. If you're Lebanese, you pay the same 3% registration fee as a resident.

Which power of attorney do you need?

For a purchase, a special power of attorney (وكالة خاصة) is enough: one job, buying a home and registering it in your name. A general one (وكالة عامة) costs twice as much at Lebanese missions and lets the holder do far more in your name.

An irrevocable power of attorney (وكالة غير قابلة للعزل), which some sellers offer instead of a registered sale, gives you a personal claim against the seller, not ownership. The home stays in the seller's name until the sale is registered. The Court of Cassation has annulled a registration made more than 10 years after such a power of attorney was signed.

To register a sale, an ordinary power of attorney must be dated less than five years earlier (Decision 188/1926, Article 50), and the Court of Cassation treats this as a strict deadline. Irrevocable ones escape that rule, but not the 10-year risk.

What to write in it

The embassy in Washington publishes Arabic templates, including one for buying property. A purchase power of attorney sets out:

• Both people's civil details: name, mother's name, place and date of birth and civil registry number, as on the Lebanese ID.
• The property: cadastral zone and plot number, plus the section number for a flat.
• The powers: to agree and pay the price, sign the contracts, register the sale in your name, pay the fees, get the statements the registry asks for, and receive the title deed.

Tip: Naming the property and a maximum price limits what can be done in your name. The template's "any property in any cadastral zone" is much wider.

Where to sign it: an embassy or a local notary

The simplest route is a Lebanese embassy or consulate. You usually sign in person (Washington also takes them by post), for a flat fee per signature:

Bring your Lebanese ID, passport or a recent civil registry extract (إخراج قيد), a copy of your agent's ID, and the property's title deed or title extract if you name one. If you're over 70, Washington, Dubai and Sydney also ask for a doctor's certificate.

The other route is a notary where you live. An apostille won't do: the paper goes from the notary to your country's authorities (in the US, your state's Secretary of State), then to the Lebanese embassy or consulate. The New York consulate wants two witnesses who aren't relatives on a property power of attorney.

In Lebanon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants then certifies a document legalised this way. For a power of attorney, the principal or the agent goes in person, and the fee was 1,000,000 pounds (about $11) in January 2026. Ask the notary in Lebanon who will use your power of attorney whether one signed at a Lebanese embassy needs this stamp too.

If the text isn't in Arabic, ask the foreign notary for a bilingual version, or have a sworn translator in Lebanon translate it.

Who signs for you, and how to check the home from afar

You can name a close relative or your own lawyer. Even with a relative signing, hire a lawyer who works for you, not for the seller.

Your agent will be asked about the money. Under Justice Minister Circular 65 of January 2026, the notary writes into the contract how the price was paid and where the money came from. Give your agent the transfer references before the signing day.

From abroad, your lawyer gets the official title extract and checks that the seller owns the home free of mortgages and seizures. Ask for a live video visit, then send someone you trust to see the building, the generator and the building committee's accounts.

Moving the money

The market works mainly in fresh dollars and cash, Libnanews reported in August 2026. From abroad, the cleanest way is a bank transfer, to the seller or first to your own fresh-dollar account in Lebanon. The notary only needs its reference.

Cash takes more paperwork. Bringing more than $15,000 into Lebanon needs a written declaration to Customs (Law 42/2015), and Customs can seize undeclared cash. The notary then needs a separate signed declaration of where the cash came from and what you do for a living.

Doing the key steps on a summer visit

Registration usually takes longer than a visit: we estimate 2 to 8 weeks from the sale contract to the new title deed at a registry working normally. Plan around the steps that need you:

1. Before you fly: shortlist homes for sale and have your lawyer pull the title extracts.
2. During the visit: see the homes, agree the price, and sign the promise to sell (وعد بالبيع) at a notary.
3. Before you leave: sign a power of attorney at a Lebanese notary for the rest. Signed and used in Lebanon, it needs no embassy or ministry stamps.
4. Once you're back: your agent signs the sale contract, pays the fees and collects the title deed. The full sequence is in how buying a home in Lebanon works.

Same rules and fees as residents, if you're Lebanese

Living abroad changes nothing in the fees. The registration fee is 3% for Lebanese buyers and 5% for others, about 4% or 6% with stamp duty and smaller fees: see what buying a home in Lebanon costs.

A spouse who isn't Lebanese buys as a foreigner, with the 5% rate and the limits in can foreigners buy property in Lebanon.