Tenants escalate… and sit-ins are expected in rejection of the “displacement law.”

The Committee for Defending Tenants’ Rights called for movements and sit-ins in a number of Lebanese regions on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in rejection of what it described as the “displacement rent law,” calling on the Parliament to take urgent action to approve new “fair and equitable” laws for residential and non-residential rents.

This came during a general assembly held by the committee at the headquarters of the National Federation of Trade Unions and Employees in Lebanon, with the participation of tenant committees from various regions, and the presence of a number of events and bodies, headed by the head of the trade union committee, Castro Abdullah, and its secretary, Dr. Mary Nassif Al-Debs.

The attendees considered that the security, economic and social conditions that Lebanon is experiencing, in light of the continuing war, the Israeli escalation and the repercussions of displacement, further complicate the rent and housing crisis, warning that the issue is now threatening social stability.

The committee confirmed its rejection of the current rent law, calling for its withdrawal and a return to implementing the old rent law No. 160/92 in the first stage, while studying increases that take into account the minimum wage and the living conditions of tenants and owners.

It also called for the development of a fair and comprehensive national housing plan that controls real estate appraisal and rent prices and limits real estate speculation, considering that housing is a “basic human right.”

The statement stressed that the establishment of the Tenants Support Fund and the competent judicial committees stipulated in the law have not been implemented yet, considering that the articles of the law related to aid and judicial reviews remain suspended until the fund and the committees enter into force.

The committee announced the implementation of sit-ins in Beirut, Tripoli, Baalbek, and other areas, on Thursday, May 21, at five o’clock in the afternoon, under the slogan: “The right to housing is a red line – the black immigration law is not enforced.”

This escalation comes at a time of renewed controversy between tenant committees and landlord unions over the rental law, amid conflicting demands between protecting the rights of landlords and ensuring housing stability for old tenants, in light of the ongoing economic and living crisis in Lebanon.