My Home is my Heart: Housing Land and Property (HLP) Legal Resources in the MENA region

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have had homes damaged or destroyed in conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Palestine, including in the Gaza Strip. Many others have lost homes in natural disasters such as in earthquakes in north-East Syria, floods in Libya, or in the port blast in Beirut. Protection of property rights can prevent displacement in the first place.

Displaced people have the right of return to their homes, including full restitution of property rights and compensation for destroyed property. It is critical that their rights are safeguarded whilst in displacement.

All persons, regardless of whether they are living at home, in displacement camps or in rental properties in host countries, have the right to adequate housing, including safe, secure and accessible housing and protection from arbitrary evictions. Women often face discrimination in law and in practice in claiming their property rights throughout the region.

Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza city. Photo: Yousef Hammash/NRC

The following Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reports and resources provide detailed legal analysis in relation to Housing, Land and Property rights and issues in the Middle East and North Africa.

Go to countries:

Lebanon. Photo: Tina Abu Hanna/NRC

Iraq reports:

• Protecting Property: the Iraq experience
• Broken Home: Women's housing, land and property rights in post-conflict Iraq
• Reconstructing Justice: Customary Justice and Housing, Land and Property in Anbar and Nineveh

Jordan reports:

• In search of a home: Access to adequate housing in Jordan
• Facing an Impossible Choice: Refugee Women's HLP rights in Syria

Lebanon reports:

• Housing, land and property in Beirut in light of the port blast

Palestine reports:

• East Jerusalem
  • Displacement and the ‘Jerusalem Question’
  • The Legal Status of East Jerusalem
  • The Absentee Property Law and its Implementation in East Jerusalem

• West Bank
  
  • A Guide to Housing, Land and Property Law in Area C
  • Driven Out: the Continuing Forced Displacement of Palestinian Residents from Hebron Old City
  • Construction and Rehabilitation of Water Sources in Area C
  • The Legality of the Wall Built by Israel in the West Bank
  • Bedouin Rights Under Occupation

• Gaza Strip
  • A Guide to Housing, Land and Property in the Gaza Strip
  • Rebuilding from the Rubble: Post-conflict Land Tenure Challenges and Opportunities in the Gaza Strip
  • Unsettled Land: The Role of Humanitarian Organisations in Fostering Transparency and Accountability in Gaza Strip Land Administration
  • Realities from the Ground: Women’s Housing, Land and Property Rights in the Gaza Strip
  • Fact sheet: Types of Land Ownership
  • Fact sheet: Unregistered Private Land in Gaza
  • Fact sheet: Registering Land in Gaza
  • Fact sheet: Recronstruction in Al Shuja'iya Neighbourhood
  • Fact sheet: Pre-Fabricated Structures in Gaza
  • Fact sheet: Women's HLP Rights
  • Fact sheet: Rental Rights and Responsibilities
  • Fact sheet: Building Permits in Gaza

Syria reports

• Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective
• Reflections on future challenges to Housing, Land and Property restitution for Syrian refugees.
• Housing land and property (HLP) in The Syrian Arab Republic.
• Stories of Syrian women, their family and property