Parliament’s Housing Committee has held more hearings on government-drafted amendments to the old rent law. Mustafa Abdel-Rahman, head of the Landlords Coalition, announced the coalition’s rejection of the amendments, particularly those regulating rent increases and the duration of the lease contract.
Abdel-Rahman said the coalition opposes the current draft of Article 5, which includes a transition period of at least five years after which rental contracts can be terminated.
Abdel-Rahman said that landlords have suffered from low rents for more than 40 years, and it will be difficult to wait five more years to acquire the right to evict tenants.
“We propose a transitional period of three years, after which tenants will be obliged to pay market rents or be evicted from units,” said Abdel-Rahman. He also suggested that during the transitional period, monthly rents will not be less than LE2,000 for units located in low-income districts, LE4,000 for units in average-income districts, and LE8,000 for high-class districts.
As for commercial properties, Abdel-Rahman demanded that the minimum rent be set at LE5,000, with the lease agreement to terminate after one year.
Abdel-Rahman said any longer extension of the 1981 so-called old rent law — invalidated by the Supreme Constitutional Court last November — poses a threat to internal security and stability, is unjust to landlords, and will worsen the housing crisis. “There are approximately 70,000 units which are at risk of collapse due to a lack of maintenance, fuelled by disputes between landlords and tenants,” said Abdel-Rahman.
Landlords have been greatly wronged, he continued, and hopes are high that the country’s political leadership and the House of Representatives will take serious steps to redress the injustice and amend the old rent law before parliament’s legislative term ends in July.
He claimed liberalising rental contracts will allow the state to collect around LE200 billion in property taxes. “Right now, the state does not get any property taxes because of low rents.”
Lawyer Ahmed Shehata, founder of the I Want My Rights Association and a member of the Landlords Coalition, also called for rental contracts for residential units to be liberalised after three years and for commercial units after one year.
“We approve the government’s bill, but it should be changed to give landlords the right to recover their units after three years, and that during this transitional period rents be increased to between LE2,000 and LE8,000 for units in cities and LE1,000 for units in villages,” said Shehata.
Representatives of tenants warned that the passing of the government’s amendments will cause huge social harm. “The law may benefit landlords, but it harms tenants and will crush them after five years. This is a complete injustice,” said lawyer and representative of the Tenants Coalition George Makram.
Makram insisted that the government’s new bill on rents poses a serious threat to national security and social peace. “This bill is more deadly than coronavirus and cholera. If it is implemented, it will be a threat to social peace. Not only will it dramatically increase rents, it obliges tenants to vacate around three million units and return them to owners,” said Makram. “What we are seeing is a forced displacement bill that will be a huge social shock. Just like Donald Trump is seeking to displace Palestinians from Gaza, the government’s bill aims to displace millions from their homes.”
Makram argued the draft law must be either postponed or amendments be limited to raising rental values without forcing tenants to vacate the rented property.
Sherif Abdel-Salam, founder of the Tenants Coalition, said “tenants are not against raising rental values gradually, but they are against evicting tenants from their units after a transitional period of five years because it is unfair.”
According to Article 2 of the proposed draft, once the law comes into force, the monthly rent of residential properties will increase to 20 times their current rental value, provided that is not less than LE1,000 for units located in cities and LE500 for units in villages.
Tarek Shoukri, deputy chairman of the Housing Committee, proposed that the government’s bill be changed to reduce the rental value to not less than LE500 in cities and not less than LE250 in villages.
Shoukri claimed there is agreement among MPs that evicting tenants should be rejected and the government must commit to providing alternative housing. As a result, Shoukri said many MPs believe Article 7 should be re-amended to state that tenants whose rental contracts expire as per the law will be given the right — rather than given priority — “to obtain residential and non-residential units, whether to rent or own, from the state in accordance with rules, conditions and procedures specified by the prime minister.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mahmoud Fawzi objected to the description of the government’s bill as “forced displacement”.
“This suggests that the government is taking the side of landlords, which is not true,” said Fawzi. “The government wants to listen to all views. The bill is just a draft that can be amended to be acceptable to all, and without bias towards any party.”
He added that the government is prepared to listen to all points of view to formulate a comprehensive vision on changes to the old rent law.
Parliament Speaker Hanafi Gebali told MPs on 12 May that hearing sessions on amendments will continue until a comprehensive legislative vision is formulated that ensures justice and social peace between all involved parties.
“The Egyptian public is following parliament’s hearing sessions on the old rent law with increasing interest, given the sensitivity of this issue and its social and economic implications,” said Gebali. “We are also committed to implementing the Constitutional Court’s ruling. Parliament will vote on the draft bill only after it strikes a balance between ownership rights and the right to proper housing.”
Chairman of the Housing Committee Mohamed Attia Al-Fayoumi said discussion of the government’s draft amendment will continue next week.
“Governors of Cairo, Alexandria and Qalioubiya — where millions of units are rented under the old rent law — will come to the committee next Sunday to give their viewpoints,” said Al-Fayoumi.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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