Egypt parliament approves overhauling controversial old rent law amid opposition walkout - Society

Al-Ahram Weekly

a day ago

The Egyptian House of Representatives has approved a highly anticipated and contentious bill aimed at overhauling the country's decades-old "old rent" law, sparking a walkout by opposition lawmakers.
The legislation, which introduces a transitional period before ending existing contracts and significantly raises rental values, seeks to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants.
The bill was approved on Wednesday during a general session chaired by Speaker Hanafy Gebaly.
It marks a significant shift from the current rental system, which has long favoured tenants with fixed, low rents.
The old rent law is one of Egypt's most complex social and legal issues, affecting millions of tenants and landlords across generations.
Thousands of apartments, worth millions, are still rented for very little in Egypt because of rent freezes under the old law, leaving landlords unable to reclaim their property for years.
While landlords have frequently sought to reclaim their properties through complaints, many tenants, who are mostly pensioners, have voiced concerns about being unable to move out and purchase new homes due to high costs.
According to official figures, 1.6 million original tenants and 3.019 million units were rented nationwide as of 2017 under the old rent law.
Key changes under the newly approved law include the following:
Transitional Periods: A seven-year transitional period will be implemented for residential units, and a five-year transitional period will be applied to non-residential units.
After these periods, tenants must vacate the properties, and all old rent laws will be abolished.
However, the parliament also approved a government-proposed amendment to Article 8, which governs the provision of alternative housing for affected tenants.
The amendment stipulates that the original tenant may not be evicted from the rented unit before at least one year has passed since a suitable alternative housing option — chosen by the tenant — has been made available, if no agreement is reached with the landlord.
Rent Increases in Residential Units: Rents for prime residential areas will increase by 20 times the current legal value, with a minimum of EGP 1,000. Moderate regions will see a 10-fold increase, with a minimum of EGP 400, and economic areas will see a minimum of EGP 250.
Rent Increases in Non-Residential Units (Natural Persons): Rents will increase by five times the current value.
Annual Increments: During the transitional period, all rents (residential and non-residential) will see an annual increase of 15 percent.
Classification Committees: Committees will be formed in each governorate to classify residential areas into 'prime,' 'moderate,' and 'economic' based on geographical location, building quality, infrastructure, and available services. These committees are expected to complete their work within three months of the law's enactment.
New Eviction Cases: Landlords can now seek eviction if a property has been closed for over a year without justification or if the tenant owns another usable unit for the same purpose.
State-Provided Alternatives: Tenants affected by the law will have the right to request allocation of alternative housing or non-residential units by the state, either for rent or ownership. Priority will be given to vulnerable groups, particularly the original tenant, their spouse, and parents from whom the lease was extended.
Opposition walks out in protest
Opposition members, including those from the Justice, Tagammu, and Egyptian Social Democratic Parties, walked out of the parliamentary session in protest of the bill's approval.
They released a statement declaring their 'disavowal' of the bill and condemning the government's refusal to amend its terms.
The dissenting lawmakers, including prominent figures like Diaa El-Din Daooud and Abdel-Moneim Emam, expressed their failure to secure amendments that would have extended the transitional period and preserved the rights of original tenants and their families.
They argued that the government exploited a Constitutional Court ruling, which only addressed rent value adjustments, to push through broader changes that affect legal centres not covered by the court's decision.
'We spared no sincere and honest effort, whether during committee discussions or in the general session, to preserve the stability of the nation and the integrity of the internal front and provide a legislative product that maintains the rights of landlords and tenants in a balanced manner,' the opposition statement read.
They added that attempts to exclude original tenants, their spouses, and children from the termination of rental relationships were unsuccessful.
Debate over transitional period length
A primary point of contention was the proposed seven-year transitional period for residential units.
Opposition members advocated for a longer period, with some suggesting 10 years and others 15, to provide more stability for tenants. MP Osama El-Masry proposed extending the period to 10 years, while MP Samira El-Gazzar suggested 15 years.
Meanwhile, MP Hany Abaza criticized the explanatory memorandum for lacking clear justifications for the chosen transitional periods.
'I cannot find anything in the explanatory memorandum that tells me why five or 10 years; the article is set in a random manner. A disciplined scientific programme must be followed,' he stated.
MP Sahar Bashir recounted a call from a tenant offering to sell a kidney to buy an apartment, highlighting the dire situations some tenants face.
'The law has stirred up a stagnant issue, and landlords hold a stick over tenants,' she said.
However, the government remained firm regarding the seven years, resulting in the opposition's withdrawal from the session after Article 2 of the bill, which outlines the transitional period, was passed.
The new law is expected to significantly impact millions of Egyptians who live in properties under the old rent system, which has been in place for decades with extremely low rents for long-term tenants.
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