Finance Ministry introduces electronic certificates to facilitate home loans

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and the CEO of the Housing Bank Antoine Habib signed a memorandum of understanding to secure electronic certificates of non-ownership of real estate, the National News Agency reported Thursday.

To be eligible for a loan, every Lebanese must provide a property certificate confirming that they do not own real estate, Antoine Habib explained to L'Orient-Le Jour. The ability to obtain these certificates electronically from the Finance Ministry will significantly speed up the process, said the CEO of the Housing Bank. The second step in the loan process, providing the property certificate detailing information related to the loan (owner, location, etc.), can also be completed electronically, added Habib.

The issuance of these certificates will be made possible through a digital link between the Housing Bank and the real estate affairs directorate. The agreement was signed in Minister Jaber's office in the presence of Public Finance Director Georges Maaraoui and several board members of the Housing Bank.

"Today, we signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an electronic link between the Housing Bank and the Finance Ministry, which will allow the bank to quickly and free of charge obtain the borrower's non-ownership certificate," said Antoine Habib after the signing ceremony. He added that "this will greatly facilitate the borrowing process" and stated that this project will be operational by tomorrow.

Habib specified that the borrower can obtain the land certificate via the online electronic service of the real estate affairs directorate, either directly or through money transfer companies. However, this certificate will need to be officially obtained later to finalize the loan procedure.

Habib also emphasized that the meeting with Minister Jaber was an opportunity to present the projects carried out by the Housing Bank in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Qatar Development Fund. Finally, he announced that he would travel to Qatar between April 13 and 17 to discuss loan projects.