Every four years, with the renewed talk about the rent law, the battle restarts between the old tenants and owners of rented buildings. The battle occurs under the two headings of “property rights” and “the right to housing.”

The battle goes back to a law passed in 1939, but what is new and dangerous this year with the new rent law passed on April 1, which is pending the Constitutional Council’s approval on June 20, is that it will change Beirut’s social structure and demographics and has an economic aim that goes beyond the issue of minor owners.

The new rent law will deregulate rent prices and change the population distribution in some socially diverse neighborhoods, where the very rich live next to the very poor, such as Ain al-Mreiseh, Ras Beirut, Mina al-Husn, al-Musaytbeh, Zqaq al-Blat, al-Bashoura, al-Saifi, Khandaq al-Ghamiq, and other areas.

Source: Al Monitor