Egypt Daily News – The House of Representatives approved Article 1 of the draft Old Rent Law as submitted, without any amendments, during its general session chaired by Counselor Dr. Hanafy El Gebaly.
Article 1 states: “The provisions of this law apply to properties rented for residential purposes and properties rented to natural persons for non-residential purposes in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 49 of 1977 regarding the rental and sale of properties and the regulation of the relationship between landlords and tenants, and Law No. 136 of 1981 regarding certain provisions related to the rental and sale of properties and the regulation of the landlord-tenant relationship.”
The session included a discussion of a proposal by MP Ashraf El-Shabrawy to add Law No. 6 of 1997. However, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, commented, saying: “The mentioned law is unrelated to the subject under discussion.”
In the same context, MP Samira El-Gazzar proposed adding a provision requiring the government to conduct a comprehensive and accurate survey of all housing units and to classify the citizens renting these units under the Old Rent Law system, in order to facilitate their access to alternative housing units that are planned to be built.
El-Gazzar criticized the Minister of Housing’s statements regarding the announcement of luxury housing, saying: “The Urban Communities Authority offered us, as MPs, housing units worth millions, and today it announces the availability of regular housing units. Who among the financially struggling tenants will be able to afford them?”
Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, the Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, responded by saying: “If the law is approved by the parliament, it will be implemented through receiving applications from eligible individuals via a platform that will be launched. Everyone will be able to access it, it will be very simple, and there will be many facilitations for submitting applications. Through this data, a clear and precise determination of the required numbers will be made.”
He continued: “Secondly, the Central Agency can conduct a special survey either nationwide or by individual governorate, to ensure a precise implementation mechanism,” noting that the comprehensive census will take place in 2027, and the old rent file will have special priority in that survey.
He added: “Article 3 of the draft law stipulates that ‘By decision of the relevant governor, census committees shall be formed in each governorate to divide the areas that include rental properties for residential purposes subject to this law into premium, middle-income, and economic zones. The division should take into account the following standards and criteria:
- Geographic location, including the nature of the area and the street in which the property is located
- Building quality, type of materials used, and the average unit size in the area
- Utilities connected to properties in each area, such as water, electricity, gas, telephone, and other services
- Road networks and available means of transportation, healthcare, social, and educational services
- The annual rental value of the properties subject to the Real Estate Tax Law No. 196 of 2008, located in the same area
A decision by the Prime Minister will be issued to outline the rules and system of operation for these committees.
These committees are to complete their work within three months from the date the law comes into effect. The Prime Minister may extend this deadline once for a similar period. The relevant governor shall issue a decision on the committees’ outcomes, which will be published in the Egyptian Gazette and announced through the local administrative units in each governorate.”
He added: “The government is ready to implement the law based on the 2017 census. However, since changes have occurred in the census data, we will rely on the new census, in addition to the survey that the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics may conduct.” He confirmed: “We have sufficient time to determine the needs and fulfill the commitments.”
