Egyptian Govt Clarifies Amendments to New Real Estate Law

The Egyptian government responded on Tuesday to what was circulated on social media regarding the confiscation of property from its owners, in the event that it was not registered, according to the new law amendment, in the land registry offices.

"There is no validity to expropriate housing units from their owners if they are not registered in land registry, explaining that the amendment does not include confiscation of any real estate from its owners," a government statement said.

The statement added that the new legislative amendment, which will come into effect on March 6, requires any buyer to register their new housing unit, whether by consensual sale in the real estate registry or by registering the judgment issued for the purchase, enabling the buyer to transfer facilities and services to the property subject of the sale contract.

The government continued in its statement that the Signature Validation Lawsuit cannot be registered in front of the land registry, as it is a precautionary principle that does not aim to challenge the authenticity of the signature.

Finally, the government has called on all media outlets and social media users to be precise when collecting information that is not based on facts and that leads to confusion among citizens.

Registration steps and required documents:

Present the preliminary sale agreement of the property to the land registry office.

Bring a certificate from the city council to confirm that the property is free from building violations.

Present a copy of the seller and buyer’s national ID card.

Write a registration request letter for the land registry, attached with the real estate tax document.

Submit a detection dataset of the residential unit in case the property’s descriptions have changed.

Write a new contract for the ratification of the contract by both contracting parties.

A Final review will be made by the competent employee to accept the declaration of the contract.