Opposition MPs launched a scathing attack on the government-drafted bill regulating old rents in residential and non-residential properties in Egypt this week, though this did not stop the bill being passed by the House of Representatives, the lower house of Egypt’s parliament, on 3 July.
Several political parties, including the Tagammu, the Egyptian Socialist Democratic Party, Modern Egypt, Wafd, the Justice Party, and the Reform and Development Party, as well as a number of independent MPs, announced their rejection of the law.
Opposition and independent MPs warned that the bill could trigger social unrest and force millions of tenants to vacate their rented properties.
“Based on our national and constitutional obligations, we exerted tremendous efforts during the final discussion of the bill to present legislation that preserves the rights of landlords and tenants in a balanced manner,” noted a statement issued by 23 opposition and independent MPs.
“We did our best to exempt the original tenant and his wife and children from any termination of the rental agreement, in order to ensure that their social and human rights are not infringed upon. But all our attempts failed as the government did not respond to our proposals to achieve the required balance, not did it provide satisfactory alternative solutions,” it said.
As a result, opposition and independent MPs confirmed their final rejection of the law in its current form, because of what they said would be its disastrous impact on millions of Egyptians.
They also highlighted the fact that the government had not provided the House with information on tenants renting under the old rent law.
During the final discussion of the bill on 1 and 2 July, House Speaker Hanafi Gebali requested the government to provide the House with accurate data on original tenants or first-generation inheritors residing in units subject to the old rent law, figures he described as “extremely important”.
In response, Khairat Barakat, head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), said that the available statistics were based on the 2017 census and indicated that the number of tenants renting under the old rent law was 1.6 million.
Out of this number, around 409,000 are classified as first-generation tenants or those aged over 60 as of 2017, he said.
The renters group the Tenants Coalition led by Sherif Al-Gaar sent a message to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, asking him not to ratify the government-drafted amendments to the old rent law.
“If this bill is ratified and signed into law, it will displace millions of citizens, including poor and low-income families, the elderly, widows, orphans, and children who have lived with their families for decades in legally rented housing,” the message said.
It said that such families do not have alternative housing and cannot afford the new rents, especially with deteriorating living conditions and the difficult economic situation. This new law, the coalition said, would be a big loss for tenants and should be modified to prevent expulsions from residential units they had rented for many years.
“We do not object to rent increases, but we reject expulsion because of its disastrous impact,” Al-Gaar said.
According to Article 123 of the constitution, the president has the right to object to draft laws passed by the House of Representatives. He can send a law back to the House within 30 days of receiving it. If he does not send it back within this period, it is considered law and goes into effect.
Meanwhile, the Landlords Coalition led by Mustafa Abdel-Rahman expressed its thanks to the government and parliament for respecting the constitution and redressing injustices done to landlords.
“This is a big win for Egypt as a whole and for landlords in particular, because it creates a healthy and positive relationship between tenants and landlords,” Abdel-Rahman said.
In a bid to placate the Tenants Coalition, Housing Minister Sherif Al-Sherbini confirmed there would be coordination with the Ministry of Local Development and governors to provide available land and residential properties to accommodate tenants forced to vacate their units after a transitional period of seven years.
Al-Sherbini said that a thorough inventory of all tenants subject to the old rent law would be conducted. The status of each tenant would be determined in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and this would determine what kind of alternative unit he or she would receive.
“No tenant will be evicted, and everyone will be able to own a residential unit based on their income.
We will take into account the elderly and those in need,” Al-Sherbini said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mahmoud Fawzi stressed in a TV interview that “the state will not allow anyone to be left homeless after the seven-year transitional period.”
The bill received final approval in the House when the Mostaqbal Watan Party (the Nation’s Future), which has a majority of 315, gave it the thumbs up. Two other political parties, Homat Watan (Protectors of the Nation) and the People’s Republican, also teamed up to vote in favour of the law.
Mostaqbal Watan Parliamentary Spokesperson Abdel-Hadi Al-Qasabi said the government had given assurances that “no tenant will be left on the streets and that the Housing Ministry is committed to providing alternative housing, whether through ownership or renting, to individuals who might be forced to return their units to landlords after a seven-year transitional period.”
The government had affirmed it will establish a fund to support tenants, he said, explaining that as a result Mostaqbal Watan had approved the final draft of the bill.
According to Article 2 of the draft, there will be a transitional period of seven years (instead of five in an earlier draft), after which the rental contracts of residential units can be terminated and landlords have the right to evict tenants.
Non-residential lease contracts covering commercial and office units rented by individuals will be limited to five years, with the possibility for both parties to agree to terminate the contract earlier.
The bill explicitly stipulates the abolition of all old rent laws after the end of the transitional period. It stipulates that after the end of the transitional period, old lease contracts shall be terminated and rental relationships liberalised, such that all lease contracts shall become subject to the provisions of the Civil Code and the mutual consent of both parties.
Article 8 states that before the end of the seven-year transitional period tenants shall have the right to residential or non-residential units for rent or ownership from among the units made available by the state.
Article 7 grants landlords the right to reclaim their residential unit immediately upon contract expiration or in two special cases that allow eviction before the seven-year transitional period ends: if the tenant leaves the unit closed and unused for more than one full year without a valid reason, thus preventing the landlord from using the property, and if the tenant owns another unit suitable for the same purpose, which entitles the landlord to request eviction from the current unit.
In these two cases, landlords can seek a quick eviction order from the courts without going through lengthy and complicated judicial procedures.
Article 3 states that a committee will be formed in each governorate to classify rented residential properties into three categories — premium, middle-class, and economic. The classification will be based on factors like geographical location, building condition, quality of local services available (water, electricity, sewage), and transport.
The committees will set appropriate rents for each category and must complete their work within three months of the law’s implementation. Local governors shall publish the final results in the Official Gazette and notify local administrations to ensure transparency.
Article 4 states that once the law comes into effect, the monthly rent of residential units will increase.
Units in premium residential areas will see their rent increase 20 times the current legal rent, to a minimum of LE1,000 per month. Units in middle-class residential areas will see their rent go up by up to 10 times, to a minimum of LE400 per month. Units in economic residential areas will see their rent rise 10 times, to a minimum of LE250.
The article also stipulates that tenants shall pay LE250 monthly until the classification committees finish their task. Once the local governor’s decision is published, tenants must pay any rent differences due in monthly installments equal to the accrual period.
The bill will now be sent to President Al-Sisi to be signed into law.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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