Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective
Challenges and Opportunities
Informal settlements
According to the World Bank, prior to the conflict, one-third of Syria’s
urban population lived in informal settlements – these are largely not
recorded in any land registries.115 In these informal settlements, which
were built primarily on private land but also on public and Awqaf land,
alternative papers such as sales contracts, notarised documents, and
even utilities documents were used to demonstrate ownership in the
absence of a title deed (tabou). If such evidence is no longer available
because it has been lost or destroyed, it is difficult to assert claims.
The number of informal settlements has increased during the crisis116
and the pervasiveness of informal practices has complicated HLP
governance.117
Missing or destroyed HLP documents
Access to documentation is critical to ensuring refugees can assert
their HLP rights and prove ownership of their assets.118 In Syria,
physical records were often the only form of evidence issued; they
were not supported by an electronic land registry. According to a
2020 UNHCR/NRC study with Syrian refugees in Jordan originating
from Dar’a Governorate, over half of those interviewed did not
have their HLP documentation due to loss or destruction during
the conflict.119 In a 2019 UNHCR/NRC survey with Syrian refugees in
Jordan, only one in five of the survey’s respondents stated that they
were still in possession of their property documentation while in
displacement, with even lower proportions for those originating from
some governorates (e.g., only 9 per cent in Aleppo and 11 per cent in
Hama).120 Female-headed households have been particularly affected,
reporting documentation levels that are 10 per cent lower than the
average for men.121 Reissuing documents122 would require that original
records were complete, accurate and are still available, accessible
and updated. Damage to land registries and court and notary records
will likely complicate and draw out reissuing processes123 and present
additional challenges for potential future reparations.
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
World Bank, 2019, The Mobility of Displaced
Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis, p.
12; Samir AITA and the Cercle des Economistes
Arabes, 2020, Urban Recovery Framework for
Post-Conflict Housing in Syria; Samir Aita et.al.,
Urban Housing and The Question of Property
Rights in Syria, October 2017, p. 25.
World Bank, 2019, The Mobility of Displaced
Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis.
UNHCR, 2018, A Longing to Go Home, in Safety
and Dignity – Intentions and Perceptions of
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon About Their Future,
p. 17 https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/
longing-go-home-safety-and-dignity-intentionsand-perceptions-syrian-refugees-lebanon
NRC Jordan, 2021, The Journey Home –
Challenges and Barriers for Syrian Refugees in
Jordan Returning to Syria.
NRC & UNHCR, 2020, Reclaiming Home –
HLP rights of Syrian refugees from Dar’a
Governorate living in Jordan.
UNHCR & NRC, 2019, Uncertain Futures – Legal
and Civil Documentation, Housing, Land and
Property (HLP) and Challenges to Return
for Syrian Refugees, p. 5. Possession of HLP
documentation was highest (28 per cent) in
Damascus, followed by 23 per cent in Homs,
21 per cent in both Dar’a and Rural Damascus,
but only 11 and 9 per cent in Aleppo and Hama,
respectively.
NRC & UNHCR, 2020, Reclaiming Home –
HLP rights of Syrian refugees from Dar’a
Governorate living in Jordan.
If land registry archives have been preserved,
Tabous and court decisions could be re-issued.
However, the document might not be updated.
NRC Jordan, 2021, The Journey Home –
Challenges and Barriers for Syrian Refugees in
Jordan Returning to Syria; KII for joint UNHCR/
NRC regional research, 2020.
Photo: UNHCR / Lilly Carlisle
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