After Months-Long Freeze, Ownership Transfers Resume for Cooperative Housing

The transfer (or sale) of cooperative housing, known in Syria as the faragh process, is one of the main tools for the exchange of rights within housing associations. However, this process came to a halt following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, leading to a freeze on buying and selling, the suspension of dozens of court cases, and increased pressure on subscribers and beneficiaries of these homes. With the ongoing housing crisis and the declining capacity of cooperatives to complete their projects, the resumption of organised transfer operations has become a key step towards revitalising the sector and safeguarding members’ rights.

On September 21, the Director of the Cooperative Housing Directorate, Samer Al-Baytamouni, issued Decision No. 4023, which authorised the resumption of transfer (faragh) operations for cooperative housing. This type of transfer, usually made through sale, is carried out within the records of the housing associations rather than in the Land Registry. Such transfers had been suspended to prevent individuals affiliated with the Assad regime from transferring their properties to others, which would hinder the pursuit of them and their assets.

The Cooperative Housing Directorate, part of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing,  is responsible for managing and regulating the cooperative housing sector after the dissolution of the General Union of Housing Cooperatives in 2019. Established in 2008, the directorate evolved to become the sole authority supervising and monitoring thousands of housing cooperatives across the governorates through its local branches, which oversee administrative and financial operations, organise meetings, and collect data and statistics. The directorate’s role includes ensuring that cooperatives comply with laws and regulations, monitoring the financing of beneficiaries and project timelines, and deciding on the dissolution or liquidation of inactive or struggling associations.

Although the cooperative housing sector historically contributed to the construction of more than 220,000 housing units – outperforming the government’s social housing projects, which produced only 77,000 units – its role declined sharply over the past decade. Around 800,000 subscribers are still awaiting their homes, with some 94,000 units under construction. No new cooperatives were established, nor were any homes delivered, in the final years of the Assad regime. The directorate’s role was largely reduced to bureaucratic administration and preserving the legal framework of the sector rather than producing actual housing.

The recent Decision No. 4023 by the Director of Cooperative Housing instructed the provincial directorates to cancel a previous circular, No. 1567, issued by the directorate on May 25, which had suspended transfer operations for cooperative housing retroactively as of December 8, 2024, for all association members, whether affiliates, subscribers, or housing designees.

In contrast, Decision No. 4023 prohibited the transfer of membership numbers at the stage of joining a cooperative, i.e. during its founding phase, and stressed that transfers should only be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations (Legislative Decree No. 36 of 2014, Decision No. 20 of 2015, and Decree No. 99 of 2011). These laws and decisions stipulate that transfers are permitted only for subscribers to cooperative housing, designated beneficiaries, those who have received their homes, or those whose registration has been cancelled; they therefore exclude the sale of membership numbers during the founding stage.

According to data from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, there are 3,248 registered housing cooperatives in Syria, of which only 1,432 are active. Meanwhile, 172 cooperatives are unable to operate effectively and are at risk of dissolution,  34 require dissolution and liquidation, and 130 need the formation of temporary boards of directors.

A well-informed source in the Cooperative Housing Directorate told The Syria Report that Circular No. 1567 issued in May 2025, which had halted transfer operations retroactively, voiding any transfers made after the fall of the Assad regime, was unfair to those who had carried out transfers lawfully and were not affiliated with the former regime. For that reason, it would have been better to specify the cases in which transfers should be annulled.

The source also noted that many court cases had been left pending because of the suspension of transfer operations, with judges postponing hearings until a decision permitting transfers was issued. The source considered that the issuance of Decision No. 4023 would accelerate the resolution of those cases, predicting that prices of cooperative housing would rise in the near future following the decision, given the many people waiting for the opportunity to sell their homes and the many others seeking to buy cooperative housing.

The recent decision by the Cooperative Housing Directorate reopened the door to transfer operations under specific legal regulations, which should ease procedural complications and allow affected individuals to pursue their cases in court. However, this step does not constitute a comprehensive solution to the crises facing the cooperative sector. Hundreds of thousands of families remain waiting to receive their homes in long-delayed projects, and the directorate’s ability to address past backlogs and provide practical alternatives remains a key test for the coming period.