The House of Representatives’ Housing and Public Utilities Committee began its first meeting on Sunday to discuss two draft laws submitted by the government regulating rental relationships between landlords and tenants, related to old rents.
The two bills will continue to be considered until Tuesday.
House Speaker Hanafi Gebaly referred the two bills to a joint committee of the Housing, Local Administration, and Constitutional and Legislative Affairs committees, as part of a broader dialogue on reformulating the contractual relationship for old rents after years of community demands.
- Details of the new old rents draft law
Article one of the draft law stipulates that its provisions apply to premises rented for residential purposes as well as premises rented to natural persons for purposes other than residential purposes, subject to the provisions of Laws #49 of 1977 and #136 of 1981.
- Increasing rental value of residential units
According to Article Two, the legal rental value of residential units will be increased to 20 times the current value, provided that the value after the increase is not less than:
- LE 1,000 per month in cities and neighborhoods.
- LE 500 per month in villages.
- Increasing rental value of non-residential units
Article Three stipulates that the rental value of premises rented for non-residential purposes (such as shops and offices) will become five times the current legal value.
- Annual increase and contract termination after five years
Article four of the law stipulates a periodic annual increase of 15 percent over the last legal rental value in accordance with the provisions of this law, to keep pace with inflation rates and achieve fairness between the two parties.
Article five stipulates that “lease contracts for premises subject to the provisions of this law shall expire at the end of a period of five years from the date of its entry into force, unless the termination is agreed upon earlier.”
- Eviction mechanism in the new law
Article six stipulates that, “Without prejudice to the reasons for eviction set forth in Article 18 of Law No. 136 of 1981 referred to, the tenant or the person to whom the lease contract has been extended, as the case may be, is obligated to vacate the rented premises and return them to the owner or lessor, as the case may be, at the end of the period set forth in Article five of this law, unless otherwise agreed upon.”
Article seven of the law stipulates that current tenants will be given priority in obtaining alternative units (residential or commercial) from the state, through rental or ownership, in accordance with rules issued by the Prime Minister, taking into account the neediest groups.
The Minister of Housing will also establish an electronic portal to receive applications within three months of its creation.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
