Conflict Incident Report

BEIRUT: Lebanon's tenants briefly blocked a road in the capital with burning tires after previous protests failed to convince authorities to revoke a controversial rent law that may go into effect soon. Protesters rallied in Beirut's Mathaf area, causing a heavy traffic jam. Parliament in January endorsed an amended rent law that would incrementally increase rent for tenants, many of whom pay less than LL1 million ($667) per year. Following the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990, rent prior to 1992 was frozen as an attempt to minimize damage of the Lebanese pound. The law affects some 200,000 apartments – mostly in Beirut – which are protected from unregulated rent hikes. The rental law amendment was first presented in 2014. Tenants can expect their rents to increase by an amount equivalent to 4 percent of their home’s current value over a 12-year period if President Michel Aoun signs the amendment. The Committee to Protect Tenants’ Rights is demanding Aoun to refer the law back to the Parliament for further debate, a move widely rejected by landlords. "The vast majority of tenants were incapable of paying the rent increase that the law stipulates," said Castro Abdallah, head of the committee, reading an open letter addressed to Aoun. The letter stressed that the "tenants didn't occupy the property of others and were not willing to see the homes that they have been living in under legal contracts [for a long period of time] being confiscated." Tenants also claim that the law is only in the interest of large real estate companies, rather than tenants and small property owners. The Committee to Protect Tenants’ Rights has organized protested weekly. Tenants blocked traffic on the Barbir bridge last Tuesday, and said they will increase their action until the 2014 rent law is tabled.