The regime approves amendments to the law on foreign ownership of properties in Syria

The “People’s Council” of the Syrian regime has approved a bill that includes amendments to certain articles of Law No. “11” of 2011, related to the ownership of properties by non-Syrians in Syrian territories. The first article of the new amendment states, “It is permissible to establish, amend, or transfer any real property right in the lands of the Syrian Arab Republic in the name or for the benefit of a non-Syrian person, whether natural or legal, provided that the person’s residence in the Syrian Arab Republic is lawful and that the ownership is for a single built property intended for residential use, independently forming a complete housing unit, licensed according to the building control system, and after obtaining a prior license issued by a decision from the Minister of Interior.”

Additionally, it includes: “Floor division of the property is not accepted if it is capable of being divided, and that ownership by diplomatic missions, consular offices, Arab, regional, and international organizations, and cultural centers for their headquarters or residences of their heads or members shall be in accordance with the need, provided that the ownership is within the regulatory plans of the administrative units and municipalities and after prior approval from the Prime Minister based on a proposal from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, under the condition of reciprocal treatment for diplomatic missions, consular offices, and cultural centers.”

The amendment in the second article states, “A non-Syrian who has acquired property ownership according to the provisions of this law is prohibited from disposing of it in any way before two years have elapsed since the acquisition of ownership,” previously requiring approval from the Minister of Interior.

The third article states in its first paragraph that “a non-Syrian property owner who has acquired it through inheritance, will, or any mode of transfer, whether the property is located inside or outside the regulatory plans of the administrative units and municipalities, must transfer ownership to a Syrian citizen within three years from the date of transfer if there is no reciprocal treatment by the country of his nationality,” previously two years before the amendment.

The second paragraph of the same third article includes, “The property ownership is transferred to the State Property Administration in exchange for payment of its estimated value according to the expropriation law provisions if the first paragraph of this article is not implemented.”

The ongoing amendments to Law No. 11 of 2011 relate to lifting restrictions that prohibited foreigners from owning more than one residential apartment per family, sized no less than 145 square meters and no more than 200 square meters, and not allowing sectarian division. It also prevents foreign owners from disposing of the property before two years have elapsed since acquiring ownership. These amendments coincide with the Damascus Governorate’s announcement of the estimated value of properties seized under Decree 66 of 2012 and Law No. 10 of 2018, which included areas of Mezzeh, Razi, Darayya, Kafr Sousa, Qadam, Yarmouk Camp, Southern Damascus, Eastern Ghouta, Qaboun, and some neighborhoods of Old Damascus, now owned by Iranian and Russian businessmen and regime-affiliated businessmen and foreign construction companies that started constructing projects on them more than three years ago, such as the Marota City project before completing legal procedures.

These amendments grant these individuals the freedom to own and dispose of properties of displaced Syrians and open real estate markets to foreigners, thereby bolstering the regime’s treasury with foreign currency and completing the demographic change crime through the resettlement and ownership of Iranians, Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani militias, Hezbollah, and other mercenaries in Damascus first, then in major provincial centers like Aleppo, Homs, and Hama. It should be noted that the committee for estimating the financial value of properties covered by Decree 66 and Law 10 estimated the price per meter in those areas from 30,000 to 40,000 Syrian pounds, equivalent to 10 dollars, while the real price per meter reached between 5,000 and 8,000 dollars. These amendments are considered a crime against Syrians, affecting their properties and estates and depriving them of their rights and selling them to foreigners unjustly.

Published on 21-02-2021