After Assad, ‘Security Approvals’ Remain an Obstacle to HLP Transactions

Five months after the fall of former Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, the transitional government still has kept in place prior security approval for certain real estate transactions that transfer ownership – such as sales and donations – before they can be entered into the Land Registry.

Previously, security approval was requested by submitting an application to the security branch responsible for the area where the property is located, either directly or through administrative mail. The request would then undergo a security review before approval or rejection. The security branch would study the file after consulting other branches to confirm the absence of any summons or legal prosecution. 

These approvals were typically issued by the Political Security Division under the Ministry of Interior or specific military and security branches depending on the area of control, such as the Fourth Division in Qudsaya. Sometimes, inquiries were carried out at security checkpoints located in judicial or court complexes. Approval could be denied for reasons such as the person being in opposition-held areas, criminal prosecution, property mortgages, travel bans, unpaid traffic violations, or political reasons such as opposition activity or standing before the Anti-Terrorism Court, where authorities performed background checks (‘tafyeesh’) to verify the absence of legal issues or outstanding warrants. Women seeking to access or manage their husbands’ HLP rights often faced significant obstacles, especially when their husbands were detained, martyred, or disappeared. In many cases, women who could not pass security clearance found themselves unable to reclaim their property or risked personal safety in the process.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, no security approvals have been issued, and it remains unclear which authority within the transitional government or newly formed security agencies is responsible for the process. There is no clarity on how to obtain them, who conducts the security review, or the criteria for granting or denying approval. According to The Syria Report’s sources, no security study has been carried out since the fall of the Assad regime. Yet, security approval remains a prerequisite for registering real estate ownership transfer transactions in the Land Registry.

On April 16, the General Commission for Taxes and Fees under the Ministry of Finance in the transitional government issued Circular No. 3/80, directed at financial departments, clarifying the situations that require obtaining security approval before recording property transactions. This circular mirrored a previous one issued before Assad’s ouster and contained nearly identical wording. The new circular, as stated, came in response to numerous inquiries from the Revenues Section – Indirect Tax Department – regarding when security approval is required.

The circular was redundant, as it conditioned security approval on procedures that are already suspended. The Directorate of Cadastral Affairs still suspends the documentation of all transactions in the Land Registry that involve the transfer or modification of property rights. As long as that freeze remains in place, the need for prior security approval is effectively eliminated.

Real estate transactions that do not require prior security approval

The new circular stated that documenting ownership transfer transactions with the financial department – for stamp duty purposes only – does not require security approval. The stamp duty, or real estate sales tax, is paid when filing a legal case to confirm a sale or donation, or for voluntary division or partition, before the civil court. In such cases, the court refers the plaintiff to the Finance Directorate to pay the tax, without requiring prior security approval. However, when the court’s judgment is to be recorded in the Land Registry, security approval must be presented, even if the tax has already been paid.

Law No. 15 of 2021 on real estate sales set the tax rates at 1 percent of the current market value for residential properties, 2 percent for lands within approved zoning plans, 1 percent for lands outside such plans, 3 percent for non-residential property sales, and 1 percent for rooftops of residential buildings. The tax is paid to the Real Estate Transactions Department at the Finance Directorate based on a court referral and according to the property’s market value as assessed by valuation committees in the Ministry of Finance.

Murhaf Karim, head of the Lawyers’ Power of Attorney Department in the civil section of the Justice Palace in Aleppo, told The Syria Report that there has been a significant increase in requests for judicial powers of attorney for lawyers to file property sale confirmation lawsuits, due to the suspension of documentation in the Land Registry. When a lawsuit is registered, the civil court refers the plaintiff to the Finance Department to pay the real estate sales tax. Mr Karim added that, even before the fall of the Assad regime, people would file such lawsuits as an alternative to direct registration in the Land Registry, as it allowed both seller and buyer to avoid depositing half of the property’s price in banks, where withdrawal restrictions applied.

The circular also identified real estate actions that do not require prior security approval because they do not transfer ownership. These include:

1. Partnership contracts for construction, which are agreements between an investor and a property owner to build structures or apartments in exchange for agreed profits.
2. Lease contracts, where a property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a specified period in return for rent.
3. Investment contracts, where one party provides movable or immovable assets to another for investment in a specified activity.
4. Loan-for-use agreements, in which the lender provides the borrower with property to use free of charge for a specific time or purpose, with the obligation to return it in its original condition.

In the case of real estate sold through public auction, Circular No. 3/80 clarified that participation in the auction does not require security approval. However, once the final allocation decision is issued and the sale is awarded to the buyer, entrance in the Land Registry cannot proceed without obtaining security approval.

Security approval is also required, according to the new circular, for property transfers from the name of the deceased to the heir (universal successor) through inheritance, will, or donation, in accordance with Decree No. 56 of 2004. A universal successor is anyone who inherits a right from the deceased – whether an heir, a beneficiary of a will, or a recipient of a donation. The process of transferring the property and registering it in the buyer’s name requires security approval.