Explained: Damascus Eases Security Restrictions on Real Estate Transactions

A letter from the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, No. 3039/1, issued on March 6, maintains the requirement for security approvals on certain real estate transactions “for the time being,” but has eased some of its other requirements and effects.

Pre-approval from the security services is a condition for the notarisation of real estate sales and general power of attorney transactions performed before a notary public. This security approval is issued by the Political Security Division of the Ministry of Interior and is considered an unlawful restriction on the property’s ownership right.

The Political Security Division can grant or deny the security approval for the person concerned with the real estate transaction. Security approval can be denied for various reasons, such as if the person concerned is wanted for investigation or arrest by one of the branches of the security agencies. Technically, this security request is an illegal procedure, because it is not based on a search warrant issued by the judicial police for a clear charge. Instead, the request for investigation or arrest may just be a malicious report filed against the person by a security informant, or due to a name similarity, or even due to other restraints on Disposal of the person’s property. In the event of an absentia conviction for a felony on the person concerned, or by the Antiterrorism Court, the Ministry of Finance imposes a precautionary seizure on their movable and immovable properties.

Letter No. 3039/1, marked “confidential and urgent,” is directed to the Ministries of Interior, Public Works and Housing, Finance, Justice, Local Administration and Environment, and is based on another letter, number 054/3, issued on February 29 by the National Security Office, a body affiliated with the Presidential Palace.

The format of Letter No. 3039/1 is similar to internal official confidential correspondences, some of which were leaked to the media. These included the implementation of gradual restrictions on real estate transactions since the early months of the Syrian uprising in 2011. This began with circular No. 85 dated June 15, 2011 from the the General Directorate of Cadastral Affairs, which agreed with the content of a letter from the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, i.e., the Prime Ministry, No. 1355 dated June 8, 2011, regarding the requirement for prior security approval on specific real estate transactions. The exact nature of these transactions was not clarified. However, the requirement for prior security approval on real estate sales and permanent lease contracts (known as furoogh contracts in Arabic), in all zoned and unzoned areas, was added through circular No. 463 from the the General Directorate of Cadastral Affairs issued on August 12, 2015, which agreed with the content of a letter from the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers No. 4554 issued on August 4, 2015. Circular No. 463 stated that the purpose of requiring prior security approval was “to ensure the legal and security rights of citizens, and those wishing to sell their properties or transfer them to others.”

In September 2021, the Ministry of Justice issued Circular No. 30, which linked the issuance of a judicial mandate to manage the assets of absent or missing people to the condition of obtaining the necessary prior security approval. In August 2022, the Ministry of Justice issued Circular No. 22, making obtaining security approval a condition for completing procedures for death declaration cases in Sharia courts.

What is new in Letter No. 3039/1 is the emphasis on the Political Security Division to justify the reasons for not granting security approval, with the aim of “allowing citizens to review the relevant authorities and properly address their situations.” The letter also called on the Political Security Division to ensure that the procedure of refusal applies only to the concerned individual, without affecting their family; parents, spouse, and siblings. Prior to this, the Political Security Division would refuse to grant security approval to all relatives of the concerned individual.

Letter No. 3039/1 also stated that the decision to grant or deny security approval should be made within a timeframe not exceeding 48 hours.

In cases where security approval is denied for an individual who owns a share in a commonly owned property, this should not affect the shares of the other partners, who should still be able to sell their shares and proceed with the termination of the common property, with the restriction remaining only on the share of the individual concerned. Previously, the denial of security approval for one individual would halt all real estate transactions for all partners.

Furthermore, the denial of security approval for the individual concerned no longer affects the shares of others in profit-sharing and joint venture agreements. These contracts serve as investment agreements between the owners of a property and its investors, with rights and responsibilities for all parties defined by the profit-sharing or partnership agreement.

The same principle now applies in the case of voluntary partition, an agreement among all partners in a property to exit the state of common ownership and divide the property among themselves by mutual consent. If one of them objects, judicial partition can be pursued through a lawsuit to end the common ownership. The inability of one of the partners to obtain security approval no longer prevents the possibility of voluntary partition of the property and exiting the state of common ownership among partners. Previously, the denial of security approval for one of the partners would stop the entire voluntary partition process.

Also, the refusal to grant security approval to the individual concerned is no longer an obstacle to the transfer of rights through inheritance to the rest of the heirs. This includes the inheritance of properties and real estate rights, such as the right to dispose of Amiri lands. It has become possible to proceed with the transfer of inheritance from the deceased to the heirs, even if one of them has not received security approval. Previously, the failure of one of the heirs to obtain security approval prevented the process of inheritance inventory.

In cases where a property is commonly owned by individuals, among whom some are unable to obtain security approval, within areas subjected to zoning, development, or urban planning laws, or real estate investment regulations, this is no longer considered an obstacle as per the new letter. It is now possible to include the property in the project, while maintaining a provisional seizure mark on the share of the individual concerned.