On March 13, the Damascus Governorate held a meeting to present a reconstruction project for “the revival” of the areas east of the capital, including Jobar, Qaboun, and Bab Sharqi. Around 30 people attended the meeting, including members of neighbourhood committees, dignitaries from Qaboun and Jobar (but not from Bab Sharqi), as well as lawyers and engineers.

Mohammad Ismail Al-Bazri, the director of the Neighbourhood Committees Office in Damascus Governorate, said during the meeting that there is an official directive to bring in foreign companies to finance and implement the project, in exchange for receiving 50 per cent of the total project’s 1,100 hectares. The project has an estimated cost of USD 21 billion, and could create around 200,000 job opportunities, according to Mr Bazri. The USD 21 billion figure estimated by Mr Bazri seems excessive given that the World Bank estimated that the total cost of reconstruction in Syria stands at USD 216 billion.

Authorities are relying on foreign companies due to the limited capabilities of the Syrian private sector, as well as the government’s inability to finance the project, Mr Bazri said.

Other meeting attendees told The Syria Report that this deducted share would range between 50 percent of previously zoned areas and 70 percent of informal settlements built on land classified as agricultural. In return, owners of homes built in zoned areas would receive 50 per cent of the area of their former homes, in the residential buildings that the foreign companies would build for them. In the informal settlements, however, compensation would be set at 30 per cent of the area of land classified as “agricultural,” regardless of the unlicensed buildings constructed on it.

Calculating compensation based on a percentage of the original housing area is complex and difficult to estimate, given the scale of destruction in the two areas and the disappearance of many residential buildings. The proposal also did not take into account the rights of non-owners, including tenants of those properties.

Likewise, basing compensation on a percentage of agricultural land area in informal settlements ignores the reality of those settlements and the large number of buildings constructed on them, many of which are now destroyed, along with the rights of their owners.

Backlash among residents

Some actors from the Qaboun neighbourhood issued a statement on March 29 entitled “Towards Fair Reconstruction that Preserves Land and Dignity,” in which they explained their legal and planning position on the reconstruction proposal. The statement described some of the governorate’s proposals as potentially leading to “forced displacement with an administrative character,” stressing that private property rights after the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024 are “sacred constitutional rights that cannot be diminished.” The signatories to the statement, including dignitaries, lawyers and professors, rejected the investment model being circulated, considering that it is based on imposing compensation rates not exceeding 30 percent of the land, which they described as “property dispossession,” and saw it as a violation of Article 16 of the Constitutional Declaration and an assault on the rights of owners.

Several representatives and residents from the two neighbourhoods, who considered that this model shifts the cost of the project onto the owners themselves, by deducting its cost from the area of their future buildings. Since many of these areas are informal settlements built on land classified as agricultural, where construction is prohibited, rights holders there would be the most harmed. They also pointed out that the proposal was not accompanied by the presentation of planning designs, nor by official clarifications regarding the implementing bodies, nor the mechanisms for compensation and valuation, which raised fears that the project might shift from reconstruction to a redistribution of ownership in favour of foreign companies.

Abu Mohammad, who is from Qaboun, says that the proposed compensation would result in him losing the majority of his property, which consists of a small building of several flats constructed on land classified as agricultural. This means that the limited compensation would be distributed among all the flat owners. He added that treating these lands as agricultural ignores their reality, as they have been inhabited and built up for many years and form an essential part of the urban fabric of the area. He said he feels that this classification significantly reduces the rights of owners and makes any plan that does not reassess it unfair. For Abu Mohammad, any amendment to the compensation rates, such as raising them from 30 to 50 percent, would not be sufficient unless it is based on a fair valuation reflecting the current value of the properties.

Some residents of Qaboun told The Syria Report that compensation should be based on the actual value of the property, or that it should provide an equivalent housing alternative in the same location, rather than moving rights holders to distant areas. The damage to their homes is also substantial, requiring a comprehensive approach. Some of them believe that the lack of transparency is the main problem, as details of the plans or compensation mechanisms have not been presented, and residents have not been involved in decision-making.

One attendee at the meeting from Jobar pointed out that the proposed project ignores the fact that the area was subjected to extensive destruction during the war years and treats it as an investment space. He added that the current proposals focus on improving the urban appearance and raising the market value of properties, without presenting a clear vision for the fate of residents or guaranteeing their return, noting that talk of towers and projects along the main axes is being framed as investment rather than as part of the restoration of rights.

Mohammad Obeid runs the Facebook page “Network for the Protection of Jobar Lands from Real Estate Mafias”, which has hundreds of followers. He told The Syria Report that the proposal was leaked by attendees at the governorate meeting, including journalists, without any official announcement.

Mr Obeid added that the proposal contradicts the spirit of Presidential Decree No. 59, issued in March 2026, which provided for the formation of a national committee to rehabilitate infrastructure in war-damaged areas, and also contradicts Artilce 16 of the the Constitutional Declaration — Article 16 of which stipulates that private property is protected and may not be expropriated except for the public benefit in return for fair compensation. He Obeid warned that implementing the proposal could lead to widespread displacement in the name of urban planning and improving the general appearance of the affected areas. He called for widening the public debate before any final decision is taken.

Law No.23 of 2015

The signatories of the statement called for the adoption of the Urban Planning and Cities Development Law No. 23 of 2015 as the legal framework for rezoning their areas, while stressing that owners should be granted the right to partition or to establish joint-stock companies, and the right to choose contractors, and rejecting the imposition of any investment entities upon them. Law No. 23 of 2015 provides for a planning mechanism based on the redistribution of ownership within a zoned area, whereby properties are merged into a single block and then redistributed in the form of shares equivalent to the original ownership value of each owner, after deducting a percentage of the area for roads, public facilities and services. The law sets a ceiling for the deductions that does not exceed 40 percent in city centres, and may be higher in cases related to urban expansion or unzoned areas, in accordance with zoning plans.

In return, the law guarantees rights holders the acquisition of zoned plots or planning shares reflecting the true value of their properties before rezoning with the possibility of participating in the development of the area through joint-stock companies or through partition with developers. It also provides for the formation of committees to estimate value and resolve disputes, and allows rights holders to object before the courts to the results of valuation or distribution. The law obliges the administrative body to secure the basic infrastructure, while charging the resulting plots with certain costs according to a specified system, rather than through unregulated deductions from ownership. The implementation instructions of the law show that part of the land is mandatorily allocated to social housing and public facilities, and that redistribution takes place on the basis of detailed plans determining roads, squares and services, on the basis that each owner receives a fair, buildable share within the new plots, while preserving their rights through Land Registry entries and the supervision of compulsory readjustment committees.

Law No. 23 of 2015 also deals explicitly with informal settlements located within zoned areas. It permits their inclusion in urban zoning projects and subjects them to the mechanism of compulsory readjustment, even where the buildings constructed on them are unlicensed. The law recognises the existence of these clusters as an urban reality and permits the recognition of the rights of occupants or owners within the planning process.

In this context, the law distinguishes between the legal ownership of the land and the reality of existing occupancy, as it allows existing buildings to be taken into account in valuation, even if their construction was illegal, through value assessment committees that determine the rights of each owner or occupant according to the situation. It also requires the inclusion of rights holders in distribution schedules and allows them to object before dispute resolution committees and the courts. This means that the existence of an unlicensed building does not automatically lead to the loss of rights, but rather to its inclusion in a zoning process that legally reproduces it within the new plots. The implementation instructions of the law also indicate that areas of collective violations are addressed within planning schemes through their redesign and the provision of infrastructure and services, with the possibility of allocating part of the land to social housing, reflecting an approach aimed at integrating these areas into the formal urban fabric.

The signatories to the statement also proposed an alternative urban vision based on the adoption of high-density residential towers, which would make it possible to grant owners floor rights of at least 55 percent and allow residents to be accommodated in modern units, instead of plans they believe reduce their rights. They stressed that implementing infrastructure is the responsibility of the state, while charging the costs to owners amounts to an “illegal tax.” They also called for the urgent repair of water and sewage networks, holding the official bodies responsible for the neglect that they said had negative health effects on local residents. The signatories warned against any negotiations conducted outside the framework of their representation, adding that any agreement not passing through an authorised legal committee is non-binding. They called on owners not to sell their properties under pressure, and to hold firmly to their rights, in order to guarantee a return to their original areas under conditions that preserve ownership and dignity.

In an attempt to contain the controversy, the Board of Trustees of Jobar neighbourhood, an unofficial community body, confirmed that the current proposal remains a verbal and unofficial presentation and has not been submitted in written form, and that any final decision will be subject to study by a specialised committee and to the approval of residents. The board stressed its rejection of any project that does not achieve the minimum level of justice or does not guarantee the right to housing, affirming that its position does not oppose reconstruction but rather demands guarantees for the rights of residents.

The local council in the city of Ayn Tarma in Rural Damascus has proposed a new revision to the master plan based on expanding the city’s boundaries and increasing urban density. This will be done by incorporating unzoned areas and allowing the construction of residential towers, with an increase in the number of permitted storeys, and permitting the construction of residential towers throughout the entire city and not only in the damaged areas.

Ayn Tarma is located around two kilometres from the Zablatani area in Damascus and is separated from the Jobar neighbourhood by the Southern Ring Road, making it one of the closest towns in East Ghouta to the capital. The city is divided into zoned areas subject to a master plan, the most recent revision of which was in 2009 under Decision No. 150, which raised the allowed number of storeys to five, especially for buildings overlooking public roads.

Wael Salam, the mayor of Ayn Tarma, told The Syria Report that the proposed revision includes incorporating the area of the Southern Ring Road reserve towards Jobar, which is an unzoned area that can be invested in through the construction of residential towers or allocated as public facilities. The proposal also includes incorporating the Aqsab Mosque area located on the edge of the town, which is currently not subject to any administrative authority, with the aim of bringing it under the municipality’s authority and granting building permits there.

The proposal also includes incorporating the Mahariq area, which was separated from Jobar after the Southern Ring Road was cut through, and turned into an informal settlement as a result of the absence of an administrative authority, since Jobar municipality no longer intervenes there, Mr Salam added. He explained that among the proposed amendments is to update the building code and permit the construction of residential towers without specifying the number of storeys, as this would incentivise investment in the city.

Informal settlements and unlicensed construction

Ayn Tarma contains large informal settlements, most notably Bustan Al-Naseem, also known as Al-Tabbaleh, in addition to agricultural land that has seen an expansion in unlicensed construction, especially in the Wadi Ayn Tarma area.

The municipality demolished around 15 unlicensed buildings in those areas during recent weeks, while tightening measures to control violations, in an attempt to curb the expansion of informal settlements, especially with the announcement of the proposed new master plan. This reflects an attempt to curb the expansion of informal settlements, especially as the proposed master plan is being introduced while unauthorised construction continues in the outskirts.

Real estate investment 

The municipality has received between three and four investors who expressed readiness to enter into modern construction projects, explained Mr Salam, adding that that the municipality’s role is limited to facilitating procedures and linking investors with owners in order to reach agreements between them, without intervening in the details of those agreements, as its role is limited to facilitating procedures. He cited the example of an investor working on implementing around 15 buildings in the city after reaching agreements with owners, which reflects the emergence of a pattern of real estate development based on private partnerships.

According to Salam, the price per metre of construction ranges between USD 200 and 400 depending on the location.

Investor Bashar Shaaban, who is from Jobar and invests in Ayn Tarma, confirmed that building activity exists but remains limited because of weak services, despite rising prices. He added that rents range between USD 150 and 250 per month depending on the condition of the property.

Widespread destruction 

Destruction is widespread in Ayn Tarma, especially in the area overlooking the Southern Ring Road towards Jobar, as well as the Shamland neighbourhood, as a result of intensive shelling between 2013 and 2018, after the city fell out of the control of the Assad regime in 2013. The formally planned areas were also subjected to widespread destruction, with large parts of buildings, including entire upper floors, levelled to the ground, and wide areas of the city remaining covered in rubble.

Residents are still slow to return to Ayn Tarma, especially Shamland, where some families live in severely damaged homes without windows or doors, using blankets instead because they cannot afford repairs. Other families also live in areas lacking sewage networks and basic services, adding to daily hardships without housing alternatives.

According to estimates by real estate agents from the area, there are around 100 destroyed buildings that need complete reconstruction, compared with 600 buildings in need of repair, equivalent to around 5,000 flats. The current population of Ain Tarma is around 130,000, including approximately 40 percent from Jobar who were displaced there because of the extensive destruction in their neighbourhood and the short distance between the two areas.

Returnees to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp and the nearby Tadhamon neighbourhood south of Damascus face complex problems relating to their property ownership after discovering that their properties had been sold or seized under forged contracts or through security pressure during the years of their absence. 

Networks including brokers, owners of real estate agencies, and sometimes lawyers exploited the circumstances of some displaced people, and the loss of their personal and property documents, and defrauded them in order to strip them of their possessions.

Forgery through missing documents

The Yarmouk camp, now mostly destroyed, had been home mostly to Palestinian refugees, along with a mix of Syrian citizens, all of whom were subjected to two waves of displacement: the first partial one in 2012, and the second comprehensive one in 2018 after Assad regime forces took control of the area.

In April 2025, Khalil returned to his home after years of displacement in Lebanon, only to find another family living in his house on the edge of Yarmouk Camp. 

Khalil, his wife, and son were displaced from the camp in December 2012, fleeing shelling by tanks belonging to Assad regime forces. Their departure was sudden, as the couple left the flat to pick up their son, who was then a student in his final year of secondary school. In that atmosphere charged with terror, the couple took only a small amount of money but Khalil forgot his identity card at home.

Khalil says that after returning to his home in the camp, he confronted the family living there without his knowledge. “The head of the family confirmed to me that he had bought the flat under a final sale contract through one of the property brokers in the area, and he showed me a copy of the contract. That was the shock, as it became clear that the contract had been concluded between the current occupier of the property and the broker acting as my representative,” he said.

Khalil figured that the broker obtained the personal identity card he had left behind, prepared a special power of attorney, and disposed of the house. Khalil said that he learned that the broker fled the camp a short time after the fall of the Assad regime.

To recover his property, Khalil appointed a lawyer, who preferred to consider the current occupier of the property a third party acting “in good faith” who had fallen victim to the broker’s fraud, rather than a usurper of the property. On that basis, the lawyer filed a lawsuit, first to prove the forgery of the power of attorney, and secondly to annul the chain of sales resulting from it.

Forced sale and fabricated accusations

In the nearby Tadhamon neighbourhood, which includes a mix of sects, the violations took the form of outright extortion and threats. 

Samer, who has been displaced since 2012 to the Barzeh Housing area, told The Syria Report about the ordeal he went through to keep his house, which ended with him being forced to sign its sale contract. The house is located in the prefabricated housing area of Tadhamon, which was partially damaged by sniping and shelling. Samer still retains the house’s official papers, including the title deed.

“From the moment I was displaced, my heart remained tied to the walls of my house, which I built through sheer struggle,” Samer said. “I tasted the bitterness of working 18 hours a day to pay monthly rents in Barzeh Housing,” he added.

With the end of the fighting in Tadhamon and Assad regime forces taking control of the neighbourhood in 2018, Samer’s hope of return was renewed, as he claims he had not taken part in any combat activities with any side.

On July 8, 2019, Samer received a phone call that “changed the course of my life completely, as I had been living in hope of an imminent return”. The caller was a property middleman known for his close ties to the security services. “He gave me a choice between agreeing to sell my house for only SYP 7 million, and facing the consequences if I refused,” he said. The prevailing prices for houses in a condition similar to Samer’s ranged at that time between SYP 13 million and SYP 15 million, according to him. 

The broker warned Samer against returning to the neighbourhood and told him that he had become wanted by the security services. When that did not work, the broker threatened Samer that he “would meet his death if he returned to Tadhamon, and no one would know anything about him.” Samer said that the threats went as far as the broker accusing him of financing terrorism, and that if he did not give up his house, he would face security prosecution because of his “dealings with external parties.” After weeks of hesitation, Samer yielded to the broker and sold his house at that price so that he would “not face an unknown fate” if he filed a complaint with the police or brought a case before the court.

After the fall of the Assad regime, Samer consulted a lawyer who told him that, since the sale had taken place under duress, it could be annulled if that were proven. The occurrence of duress can be proven by comparing the price of the house sold with the prevailing values at that time. This pattern of sales is officially documented in the property records, but lacks the element of consent.

The transitional government is preparing a new “Syrian National Code” for safety standards in the construction of housing, industrial facilities, and tourist establishments. The new project aims to establish a more comprehensive framework for safety standards in construction, including requirements for earthquake-resistant design, fire safety, and resilience to natural disasters, as well as ensuring the structural safety of buildings.

The new code is expected to replace the current ‘Syrian Arab Code for the Design and Implementation of Reinforced Concrete Structures,’ a structural engineering code that sets the foundations for designing and constructing buildings to achieve minimum safety standards. The Syrian Engineers Syndicate adopted the first version of this code in 1992, before developing a second version in 1995 that included requirements for constructing earthquake-resistant buildings. Compliance with this code is a condition for obtaining a construction permit, as engineers are required to include it in the structural studies submitted with licensing applications, while the Syrian Engineers Syndicate and municipalities supervise adherence to its application during the licensing and implementation stages.

Last February, the General Secretariat of the Presidency formed a higher committee tasked with preparing the new Syrian National Code, as well as a draft law that will be presented to the People’s Assembly, with the aim of granting the code legal binding status and obliging builders to apply its standards in construction operations while imposing penalties on violators. This would move the code from being a technical reference enforced through licensing procedures and professional supervision to a binding legal framework that allows violations to be pursued judicially.

The new draft law will require approval from the Syrian Engineers Syndicate and the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management for future construction projects in order to monitor the application of safety standards under the code. The law will also impose penalties on those who fail to comply with the code’s standards.

The higher committee tasked with preparing the Syrian National Code held its first preparatory meeting on March 11, which was attended by one of our correspondents. The committee consists of 24 members and is chaired by the Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management. It includes representatives from the ministries of Emergency and Disaster Management, Public Works and Housing, Local Administration and Environment, and Economy and Industry, in addition to representatives from the Syrian Engineers Syndicate, the universities of Homs and Lattakia, and the Syrian Arab Organisation for Standardization and Metrology, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Economy and Industry and is responsible for preparing and approving national standard specifications for products and materials, including building materials. It is unclear why representatives of these two universities and not other ones were appointed.

During the meeting, the committee discussed the mechanism for preparing the new code, including reviewing Arab and international codes adopted in the field of construction in order to benefit from comparative experiences in establishing safety and construction standards. Work is also underway to form specialised technical committees in areas such as structural engineering systems and fire prevention. These committees will prepare the initial draft of the Syrian National Code, including the technical conditions and standards related to the safety of buildings and facilities.

The draft law will in turn undergo legal review to ensure its compatibility with existing laws and legislation before being presented to the public bodies concerned with construction and urban planning in order to provide comments and proposals. In the final stage, the code is expected to be issued and subsequently subject to periodic review in line with technological developments in the construction sector. The law will also require those wishing to build to apply the structural safety standards stipulated by the code.

During the meeting, the Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh said that there are shortcomings in updating the old code, considering that the country lacks a clear and comprehensive code related to safety, security, and protection from fires and natural disasters, the consequences of which became clearly evident after the February 2023 earthquake. Mr Saleh indicated that the need for a new national code is increasing with the expected urban expansion in the country, including residential tower projects and large urban developments, which requires modern structural standards that keep pace with global developments in the field of construction. He also stressed the importance of the role of the Syrian Engineers Syndicate in monitoring the application of the code’s standards on the ground.

Mr Saleh indicated that the problem is not limited only to updating the code, but also includes weak compliance with safety standards in a large number of residential buildings and industrial and tourist facilities. He cited the example of a warehouse in the Idlib countryside that was exposed to a fire in February which civil defence teams were unable to contain because there was no emergency exit, leading to major losses for its owner. He also referred to the collapse of a four-storey building in the Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood of the city of Aleppo on March 7 as a result of weak foundations and columns, which made it difficult for civil defence teams to remove the rubble and rescue the victims, resulting in ten deaths.

An increasing number of Syrians residing in Lebanon have returned in recent days alongside escalating Israeli bombardment across wide areas of Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut. Many of the returnees are going back to damaged homes that require renovation work, or buildings that have been completely destroyed and require rebuilding.

These developments coincide with direct effects of the regional war on Syria itself, as Iranian missiles and drones intercepted by Israel in Syrian airspace caused damage to residential buildings in various governorates.

The transitional government’s response to returnees

Deputy Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Ahmad Aqziz told The Syria Report that, as of March 11, the war in Lebanon pushed about 90,000 Syrians in Lebanon to return suddenly to Syria in order to escape the widening scope of military operations. He added that the transitional government has not yet established any shelters designated for receiving returnees because “most returnees preferred to head directly to their original areas.”

Mr Aqziz said they are providing initial relief to returnees while they wait at border crossings, and securing transport for people who wish to return to distant areas inside Syria but do not have a way to get there, such as areas in the Aleppo countryside or the eastern regions.

The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management has formed an operations room for rapid response, which coordinates between the government bodies concerned with this issue, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, in addition to coordination with international organisations, he added. The aim is to organise the response to returnees and secure their basic needs during their border crossing and in the early stages of their return.

Patterns of return

Most returnees from Lebanon entered Syria through three main border crossings: the Jdeidet Yabous crossing in the Damascus countryside, the Jousieh crossing in the Homs countryside near Al-Qusayr, and the Arida crossing in the Tartous governorate, according to data by the General Authority for Borders and Customs. These crossings witnessed clear congestion during the first days of the escalation in Lebanon, with increasing numbers of Syrians deciding to return quickly for fear of the war expanding.

A large number returned to the Qalamoun region and the Damascus countryside, in addition to areas in Homs governorate and its countryside, while others are heading to more distant areas such as the Aleppo countryside or the eastern governorates. This geographical distribution leads to differences in the needs of returnees, particularly regarding housing and the possibility of returning to their original homes.

Temporary housing options and damage to homes

This mass return movement is taking place under complex living conditions, as a large number of returnees originate from areas within Syria that experienced widespread destruction during the years of war since 2011. Many of them return only to find damaged homes that require renovation work, or buildings that have been completely destroyed and require rebuilding. This forces some returnees either to stay in those damaged homes or to temporarily rely on relatives or rental housing until they are able to repair their homes.

According to Mr Aqziz, around 80 percent of returnees preferred to return to their original areas and stay in their homes, some of which are partially damaged. In contrast, around 20 per cent of returnees chose to stay temporarily with relatives or rent homes until they are able to repair their houses.

The ability of returnees to repair their homes remains limited in many cases due to the high cost of building materials and weak financial resources after years of displacement. Some may therefore rely on assistance from international or local organisations, whether in the form of materials for repairing homes or limited cash support to help fix partial damage to housing.

Some returnees also face additional difficulties related to the absence of basic services in their areas, such as electricity, water, and sewage networks, factors that affect their ability to settle in those areas. In some cases, returnees choose to remain temporarily in areas close to their original homes until housing conditions and services improve.

Housing damage due to falling missile debris

Iranian missiles and drones intercepted by Israel in Syrian airspace caused some of them or their fragments to fall onto residential areas in Syria, leading to direct damage to some buildings and casualties. 

In the city of Suweida, a missile that fell on a residential building in early March destroyed the ground floors and killed five people, including two children. In the town of Ain Terma in the East Ghouta area of Rural Damascus, falling missile fragments on March 1 completely destroyed a house and caused four injuries, in addition to damage to some neighbouring homes. In the Daraa governorate, some houses sustained varying levels of damage, including houses in the city of Jasim that were damaged when a drone fell and exploded directly above one of them, leading to destruction and injuries, in addition to damaging surrounding homes. Other missiles also fell in open agricultural areas, including land located between the towns of Kafr Zita and Al-Latamneh in the Hama countryside, as well as in the town of Uqayribat.

The Ministry of Local Administration and Environment has begun  surveying damage sustained by housing during the war in Syria, in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat. The survey aims to produce a unified official database on the scale of housing damage. The process began in Daraa Governorate in February 2026 and will later expand to include the remaining governorates.

The ministry had planned this survey since September 2025, with assistance from UN-Habitat experts. Specialised technical committees affiliated with the administrative units in each governorate will carry out field surveys of housing damage within the scope of each administrative unit, before submitting their reports to the governorate, where the data will be compiled and later sent to the ministry.

Ali Al-Hamad, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment, told The Syria Report that the ministry expects to complete the survey within two months, and added that the speed of completing the survey may vary between governorates, as those with larger geographical areas will require more time for the technical committees to complete their work.

The survey in Daraa governorate has found about 93,000 damaged homes; 33,400 are completely destroyed and require reconstruction, while around 60,000 houses have varying levels of damage that can be repaired to different degrees.

The most affected area is Daraa Al-Balad, in Daraa city, where housing damage is estimated at around 70 per cent, followed by the town of Sheikh Miskin in the Daraa countryside at approximately 60 per cent, then Busra Al-Harir at up to 50 per cent. The town of Namer is also among the areas where housing damage has reached about 50 per cent.

The technical committees formed by the administrative units (towns and villages) in Aleppo have also nearly completed the survey of housing damage in that governorate. The technical committees are currently preparing the final figures related to the number of damaged homes, in preparation for submitting them to the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment as part of the overall survey data.

In 2025, the Syrian Engineers Syndicate prepared a procedural guide for surveying housing damage. The Syndicate’s Secretary, Rasheen Ismat, told The Syria Report that this guide was developed according to international standards, so that it could serve as the reference used by technical teams in determining the level of damage to residential properties.

Mr Ismat explained that the guide sets out the criteria for classifying housing damage, including homes that cannot be repaired and require reconstruction. This category includes homes whose structural integrity has been damaged, even if they are still standing but have become dangerous.

A source in the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment told The Syria Report that unifying damage figures through this survey will make them the official reference instead of the scattered estimates issued by different entities. These official data are expected to enable public bodies and private companies wishing to enter reconstruction and real estate development projects to rely on accurate figures when estimating the cost of rebuilding damaged areas. The availability of these data is also expected to contribute to accelerating the preparation of studies and projects related to reconstruction.