HLP

A team from UNRWA is continuing to work to assess damages to real estate in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus; however, the assessment does not include an action plan to clarify the next steps for the return of residents.

In July 2018, Islamist opposition factions seized control of the two Shia towns of Kafraya and Al-Fuaa in the north of Idlib after evacuating the remaining residents according to the “Four Towns Agreement.” Since then, there have been disputes and clashes between the controlling armed factions and displaced Sunni civilians, who have recently arrived in the towns, over who has the right to live in the homes left behind by displaced Shia civilians. The towns were divided into districts, which were allocated to each armed faction present. 

Five years after Syrian regime forces regained control over the area, the Lattakia Governorate announced the return to normal life in the villages of Al-Ghaneimiyeh and Wadi Sheikan in the rural northern part of Lattakia.

Poor living conditions and substantial unmet housing needs have spurred widespread “building violations” that are in violation of construction codes in the city of Masyaf in the countryside of the Hama Governorate. In recent years, many families have resorted to seizing state-owned lands on the outskirts of the city, especially on the western side.

Law No. 3 of 1976, which regulates land sales, fully and explicitly prohibits trading lands intended for construction within an approved general zoning plan.

The Damascus Governorate is delaying the return of residents to Al-Tadhamon District in southern Damascus, despite its optimistic statements in the past. The governorate recently halted work to remove rubble and rehabilitate the district with no explanation.

Similar to the public auctions held in the northern part of Hama governorate, there were auctions held between September 1 and 17 to invest in lands belonging to “absentees” from the regime-held countryside of eastern Deir-ez-Zor governorate, an area known as Al-Shamiyeh.

The Hama governorate has failed to recognise the rights of ‘al-mughareseh’ farmers, prohibiting them from harvesting their pistachio crops this season and offering their lands up for investment through public auctions held on July 12.

In Syria, the average annual housing deficit reached nearly 130,000 homes in the decade preceding the 2011 conflict, according to official estimates. This represents the annual gap between the demand for housing and the supply of implemented housing units and has become a major obstacle to property rights.

As battles have subsided since 2018, real estate prices in Damascus have risen to such an extent that owning a private home in the Syrian capital has become an inaccessible luxury to most of its residents.

The Hama governorate has completed a census of pistachio farmlands in the rural northern part of the governorate as well as neighbouring parts of southern Idlib governorate. The lands belong to farmers who were forcibly displaced by regime forces to opposition-held territory further north. The spatial technical committees formed by the governorate submitted lists of the farmlands that will be offered for investment in public auctions to be held this week.

Despite recent “presidential instructions” to facilitate the return of residents to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, many obstacles remain in place. According to a correspondent for The Syria Report in the area, a Military Security detachment on Al-Thalatheen Street, where the camp begins, began giving homeowners in the camp daily security approvals, allowing them […]

The Tartous City Council has demanded the termination of common properties in the Akkar Plain area, as well as a detailed memorandum to be sent to the parliament to pass a law addressing the issue. The Akkar Plain extends across 16,000 hectares of land on either side of the Homs-Tartous highway, reaching the Lebanese border. Dozens of towns and villages are located within the plain, the largest of which is Al-Safsafeh.

Amid heavy media coverage, a handful of families finally returned home to the village of Al-Zara in the rural southern part of Hama governorate, three years after regime forces took back control of the area. Al-Zara is one of the smallest villages in the Hama governorate, though the Al-Zara Thermal Power Station was built near it. Only 1,000 people lived in the village according to the 2004 census. Most residents are from the Alawite sect. 

Lattakia governorate continues to launch projects to restore partially damaged homes in the northern countryside of the governorate, which has witnessed war operations and the displacement of part of its resident population.

In principle, precautionary asset seizure in Syria is a legal procedure in which a person’s movable and immovable assets are placed under the authority of the judiciary to prevent him from disposing of them. This is to ensure the collection of debts owed by him to individuals or official entities. Since 2011, however, the Ministry of […]

The municipality of Raqqa (known as the “People’s Municipality,” part of the majority-Kurdish Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria--AANES) has issued a zoning plan for the city and presented it to the Local Administrations and Environment Authority, which serves as a governmental ministry. The body approved the city plan on July 7. Work will begin in September to implement the new zoning plan, after obtaining final approval and studying any public objections.

Syrian law grants the notary power of attorney the status of a real estate title deed, in one limited case stipulated in Article 681 of the Civil Code--that is when the power of attorney is irrevocable and therefore the sale of the property is considered final.

Many displaced residents of the Husseiniyeh Palestinian Refugee Camp southeast of Damascus have been unable to return, after it appears to have been turned into a military compound with only one entrance and exit through a security checkpoint.

Contractors are still extracting and recycling materials from houses belonging to displaced people in the regime-held southern part of Idlib.