Housing Policy Tracker 5 | February 2025

Updates on Old Rent deconrtol, the reconciliation law, Gaza's reconstruction, financing gentrification of Downtown Cairo, and other real esate and housing news

Welcome to Housing Policy Tracker 5!

In this issue you’ll read about:

• Old Rent Decontrol Arguments Started

• Building Law Relaxed in Villages… Ministry of Agriculture Approves New Cordons

• 400k Social Housing Units Ordered

• Gaza Reconstruction Plans Taking Shape

• Real Estate and Urban Redevelopment Updates

• NUCA Land Allocations in Cairo and Alexandria

• Rural Development Haya Karima P1 Almost Complete

• SOEs’ Restructuring and Privatisation Moving Ahead

• New Supreme Council for Planning and Sustainable Development Established

• INDEPTH: Downtown Gentrification Financing Rounds Kickoff

• RESOURCES: Archiving USAID Reports on Egypt’s Housing

Note: In case some links fail, please try them on the WayBack Machine, or if not available, Archive Today.

Old Rent Decontrol Arguments Started

During the weekly press conference, PM Madbouly revealed how a number of specialized committees were reviewing the Supreme Constitutional Court's ruling annulling the fixing of rent values. He elaborated how the process involved community dialogue and that the National Dialogue was involved. Madbouly explained that the aim is for a transitional period [between value control and full decontrol], and a balanced outcome [between landlords and tenants], where the government will support those in need who could not pay the [higher] rents.

Stakeholders also voiced their views during the month. Ayman Essam, legal consultant to the Egypt Tenants’ Union, stressed on the court ruling’s exclusive applicability to properties subject to Law 136/1981, so those built on and after 1981. He claimed that since rent was fixed at 7% of land and building value at the time of construction landlords had gotten their return on investment within 10 years. He presented a proposal to increase rents by 10% every year for five years then a pause on increases for five more years and then another 10% change.

On the other hand, Ahmed Behery, legal consultant to the Old Rent Landlords’ Union, presented a draft law aiming to liberalize rent for residential units within three years (one year for commercial units). His proposal suggests relying on real estate taxes as a reference so that rent rises up to 60% of the value as determined by real estate taxes within the first year. This will go up to 80% in the second year and then 100% in the third year.

#OldRentDecotrol

Building Law Relaxed in Villages… Ministry of Agriculture Approves New Cordons

Minister of Housing Decree 120/2025 was passed, amending the Unified Building Law bylaws. The amendments allow more floors in villages based on street widths, as opposed to the blanket regulations that stipulated that building heights are 1.5 times the street width. Previous regulations passed in 2008 did not suit villages’ narrow streets and alleys, rendering a large portion of homes there informal. However, the amendment was made after millions of owners applied to reconcile the informal status of their homes in exchange for a fee. This left many whose applications are still being considered, as to whether they remain informal or not.

Meanwhile, Cabinet approved the Ministry of Agriculture’s maps defining built up areas ‘close’ to existing village cordons in 14 governorates. This is an important step for owners to be able to apply for reconciliation where their land has been rezoned for construction, as the law prevents the legalization of homes built outside village cordons on agricultural land.

#UnifiedBuildingLaw #ReconciliationLaw

Legal Archive: New Reconciliation Legislation (from 2023)

Read the BEO’s articles on the Construction Violations Reconciliation Law

400k Social Housing Units Ordered

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ordered the offering of 400,000 housing units to low- and middle-income Egyptians. The units being built by the Ministry of Housing [NUCA], and the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, are being tallied based on their rates of completion to be offered as part of the social housing programme Housing for All Egyptians in a future ad. The last ad, Housing for All Egyptians 5, was launched in November 2024, where 589,000 applicants competed over 78,000 units.

The Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund (SHMFF) that coordinates applications and allocation of social housing, released its latest annual report for FY 2023/2024 (PDF).

Setting a new precedent, the Cabinet approved the sale of slum-clearance rehousing units in the Rawdat Al-Sayyida estate in Cairo to residents already living there. This type of housing has usually been rented out on long term leases to residents of communities that were demolished by the Urban Development Fund or UDF (formerly the Informal Settlements Development Fund), in slum clearance projects going back to 2009. The new provision allows the units to qualify for the subsidised mortgage scheme already in use by the SHMFF for social housing.

#HousingForAllEgyptians #UDF