Finance Committee Approves Housing Loan Facilitation and Forms Judges' Fund Subcommittee

The Finance and Budget Committee convened under the chairmanship of MP Ibrahim Kanaan to continue reviewing a draft law proposing a fixed financial fee on early repayment transactions in favor of the Public Housing Institution, along with an expedited draft law aimed at amending notary fees. The session included MPs Salim Aoun, Simon Abi Ramia, Raji Al-Saad, Jihad Al-Samad, Hassan Fadlallah, Adnan Traboulsi, Ayoub Hmeid, Melhem Khalaf, Cesar Abi Khalil, Razi Al-Hajj, Paula Yacoubian, Elias Jaradeh, and Amin Sherri.

Attendees also included the Justice Ministry representative Judge Elie Maalouf, Public Housing Institution Director General Rony Lahoud, President of the Notaries Council Randa Abboud, and Tamam Janhou and Sara Al-Hashem from the Notaries Council.

Following the meeting, Kanaan stated, “Housing is among the most critical and urgent social issues. The proposal by colleague Simon Abi Ramia aims to accelerate and facilitate the approval of housing loans at the Public Housing Institution. We examined the proposal thoroughly, made some amendments related to mechanisms and deadlines, and it was approved today. It will be placed on the agenda of the first legislative session, God willing.”

He added, “We also discussed the draft amendment to notary fees and formed a subcommittee to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Judges’ Mutual Aid Fund, and the Notaries Council to prepare a revised version to be presented in a future session, considering the observations received. We also emphasized the necessity of strengthening judicial independence and providing the judiciary with the required resources, while ensuring compliance with the law and established allocation standards.”

MP Simon Abi Ramia remarked, “I thank Finance Committee Chairman Ibrahim Kanaan and the committee members for approving the draft law. There are more than 50,000 files at the Public Housing Institution, representing over 50,000 families waiting, and it is unacceptable to maintain the current pace amid an 87% vacancy rate in the institution’s staff, as this would cause delays extending for years.”

He continued, “The proposal was introduced to expedite procedures by offering citizens the option to pay a fixed fee of 100 million Lebanese pounds to complete their file within four months or to follow the normal process. According to the approved text, those who pay this fee will have their files completed within four months, whereas the normal process will not exceed six months. Additionally, this measure will contribute extra revenues to the state treasury and enable the institution to provide housing loans to approximately one thousand additional families.”