Dozens of old buildings in Tripoli, the North, and various Lebanese regions have become a looming threat to the lives of residents and public safety, as warned by the “Real Estate Owners and Leased Buildings Syndicate,” which expressed its deep concern about the current situation.
The syndicate explained in a statement that the main reason behind this deterioration is the owners’ deprivation of any fair increase in rental values for many years, which prevented them from carrying out the necessary maintenance and restoration work, and caused the erosion of the infrastructure of these buildings.
The syndicate called for the necessity of finding a fair legal mechanism to enable owners to restore these buildings, and called on the state to assume its responsibilities by expediting the evacuation of buildings at risk of collapse, or rehabilitating what can be restored based on reliable and transparent engineering reports, while emphasizing that owners alone should not bear the responsibility for this deteriorating situation after being deprived of their legitimate rights for many years.
The syndicate also stressed the seriousness of continuing to use some of these buildings as educational institutions, considering that endangering the lives of hundreds of students is “gross official negligence,” and called on the state to provide urgent alternatives, whether through shift systems or school mergers.
In conclusion, the syndicate affirmed that continuing to ignore this sensitive file may lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe,” appealing to all concerned parties to bear their responsibilities and take the necessary measures before it is too late.
