After months of sleeping in a school in the city of Sidon, Mohammad and his family, who were displaced from Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, decided to rent a house, fearing that the war might escalate and prolong. “The apartments are very expensive,” says Mohammad, who lost his job in agriculture after his orchard, which provided his livelihood, was burned. Now, Mohammad is responsible for supporting his three children, wife, and elderly mother.
However, as the wave of displacement spread to include Beirut’s southern suburbs, another issue emerged beyond the rising rent prices. Some citizens expressed on social media their refusal to rent apartments or host displaced people from the south and southern suburbs, fearing that there might be Hezbollah officials or field commanders among them, which could put them and their towns at risk.
“Where should I go with my family? My mother is over seventy and suffers from chronic illnesses. She had a hard time when we were sleeping in a school in Sidon after leaving our home due to the ongoing clashes,” Mohammad wonders, describing his helplessness in finding a solution.
He continues: “We don’t belong to any party or any official or minister,” pausing before adding, “We rely on God.”
According to Information International, the ongoing clashes since October 2023 between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have displaced more than 100,000 people, a number likely to increase in the coming days as tensions escalate. In addition to those displaced from the south, families from Beirut’s southern suburbs have also been displaced, particularly after the assassination of a prominent Hezbollah leader, Fouad Shukr, in Haret Hreik. This increasing displacement has led to a rise in the rents of apartments and residential units in areas considered “safe” for displaced persons, such as Aley, Sawfar, as well as Keserwan, Jbeil, and Metn, which are close to Beirut but not in direct danger.
Parallel to this, some landlords have expressed security concerns about renting to families who , under the guise of displacement, might be hiding a Hezbollah official, thus possibly posing a security threat to the entire area. This concern was evident in the town of Falougha, where the mayor issued a directive to residents not to rent homes to anyone “Lebanese or non-Lebanese,” “local or non-local,” without first verifying the tenant’s identity, checking their record, and obtaining prior approval from the municipality, a step that directly violates the law and the principle of freedom of movement and investment.
The story of Falougha and other areas where residents refused to rent to displaced people from the south sparked widespread debate. The refusal to rent to war-displaced persons for sectarian reasons has exacerbated social divisions, as expressed in a series of comments and videos that began circulating on social media.
Those who hold this negative stance toward displaced people from the south attribute the responsibility to Hezbollah for opening what is known as the “support front,” which has contributed significantly to the current tension. However, Hezbollah’s responsibility does not absolve political opponents of the party who are also fueling sectarian tension and public unrest.
Our livelihood Flourishes in the Summer
One real estate developer we spoke to, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “Summer is a season of income for apartment owners, especially with the presence of tourists and expatriates, so the demand for apartments increases during this season, and naturally, prices go up. This is the only opportunity to compensate for losses and stagnation during other times of the year.” He adds: “Now, with the war, the demand has risen even more, while the supply is limited, which means higher prices. Some are exploiting the situation to make additional profits from displaced persons who are forced to find shelter.”
A Thousand Dollars a Week!
With Israel’s threat of retaliation for the attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, an incident it accused Hezbollah of carrying out (though Hezbollah denied involvement), Hiba had to leave her home in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “It’s extremely dangerous,” she said, explaining: “[My home] is near the airport, and I don’t know if there’s anyone in my building who might be a Hezbollah leader or official, which could lead to Israel bombing us.”
“I couldn’t find an apartment in such a short time because most had already been rented, and the prices were far beyond what I could afford. Thankfully, the organization I work for helped me move from the southern suburbs to a guesthouse, for which I paid $1,000 for just one week.”
She added: “If it weren’t for the help from my organization, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. But what about families left to fend for themselves?”
Charbel Cherfane, a legal advisor to the Owners of Properties and Buildings Syndicate, believes that “the crisis we’re facing stems from an imbalance between supply and demand, where demand has far outstripped supply, which in economic theory leads to a price increase for goods or services. For example, if there’s only one or two available apartments in a neighborhood or street but more than one person is interested in renting them, the landlord can demand exorbitant rent (which we are, of course, against). However, if there were ten available apartments in the same area, there wouldn’t be room for monopolization or inflated rent demands because the market, when balanced, naturally corrects itself, resulting in lower prices or rental rates.”
Cherfane links the “exorbitant rents some landlords are asking to the scarcity of available apartments,” noting that “most are occupied by tenants who have lived there for over 70 years, many of whom own other properties in the same area or elsewhere, or have even moved out but refuse to vacate the rental, hoping to receive a sum of money in exchange for leaving. We have thousands of such cases.”
Cherfane urges landlords to adhere to fair market rents according to each area and to show compassion for their fellow citizens, which many are doing. However, some generalize, arguing that “only a very small number of people engage in these inhumane practices, which remain isolated incidents and do not reflect the stance of landlords or their syndicate.”
Clashes have persisted and escalated since October, and so far, sufficient shelters or alternative accommodations for the displaced have not been provided, except for a few schools that have been turned into shelters, despite being inadequately equipped. With the threat of expanded operations looming, the Lebanese government has only issued weak plans that are insufficient to house all the families, especially those who do not belong to Hezbollah and thus do not receive assistance or housing allowances from the party.
In contrast, Israel is preparing for war by opening shelters worth millions of dollars in several cities in anticipation of any emergency, in addition to providing assistance and care for its citizens, particularly those displaced from the north who are more at risk than others.
