In a step described by researchers and affected individuals as carrying a complex bureaucratic nature, the Ministry of Housing announced the opening of applications to obtain alternative units for old rent tenants, starting from October 2025. The new government plan, which is linked to the implementation of Article 8 of the Law Regulating the Relationship Between the Landlord and the Tenant, grants applicants only a three-month deadline to prove their eligibility and obtain an alternative unit, in exchange for signing a declaration to vacate the old unit. With the absence of details regarding the number of available units, these procedures raise questions about the fairness of implementation and the feasibility of the adopted policies in handling the old rent file, one of the most socially complex files in Egypt.
The announcement came within the framework of implementing Article (8) of the law regulating certain provisions of renting properties and reorganizing the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. The announcement includes two categories:
First, residential units: Application is allowed for the original tenant, or the husband or wife to whom the contract was extended before the law came into force, as well as beneficiaries of the legal extension.
Second, non-residential units: Application is allowed for the original tenant or the one to whom the contract was extended, with the necessity of specifying the property data, geographical scope, and the required allocation system (rent or ownership).
As for the required documents for residential units, they include: an official application according to the prepared form, a copy of the lease contract and documents proving the continuation of the rental relationship, and a declaration to vacate the rented property upon receiving the new unit. Also required are copies of the national ID cards of both spouses, birth certificates of minor children or their personal IDs, in addition to documents of marital status (such as a marriage or divorce certificate with a guardianship ruling, or a death certificate with inheritance declaration). In case of the presence of a person with disabilities, a qualification certificate or a government services card or an approved medical report is required.
As for non-residential units, proof of practicing the activity must be provided, such as the tax card, commercial registry, or activity license.
To prove income, government and public sector employees must provide a certified statement from the employer showing the net monthly or annual income. Private sector employees must submit a certified income statement, along with the company’s commercial registry number and tax card. Freelancers must submit a tax registration document, a certificate from a certified accountant showing the net income, and a copy of the commercial registry or tax card. For widows, divorcees, and pensioners, an official statement of the pension value must be provided, as well as the alimony document for divorced women if available.
The ministry pointed out the possibility of requesting additional documents depending on each case, to ensure accurate data completion.
Despite the ministry relying on presenting these procedures in an organized format supported by a detailed infographic, some researchers and affected individuals believe that the required steps are characterized by bureaucratic complexity and lack the clarity that ensures fair implementation, especially in the absence of sufficient information about the availability of an adequate number of alternative units. This raises questions about the effectiveness and feasibility of the government policies related to the old rent file.
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Ambiguity of Housing Units
In this context, Mahmoud Hashem, one of the tenants covered by the old rent law, tells Zawia3: “The conditions set by the government may indeed apply to me, but the more important question is: Is the state actually capable of providing a sufficient number of units for everyone who meets these conditions?”
Hashem adds: “Personally, I know many people who have lost their old rent contracts—what is the situation for them in this case? If the state truly owns hundreds of thousands of units ready for distribution to tenants, then this raises a logical question: why does a housing crisis exist in the first place?”
As for Ahmed Adel, the son of one of the female tenants affected by the law, he explains to Zawia3: “My main problem is related to my mother. The government’s entry into the real estate market has caused prices to rise excessively; the simplest government apartment today starts at 1.5 million Egyptian pounds ($30,928), and with very small areas. This intervention has also pushed the private sector to raise prices even further, considering that it was the government that set the new minimum threshold for the market.”
Ahmed continues: “Even if we assume that the government will grant families ownership-based apartments with a discount, the monthly installment over twenty years will amount to about 4,000 Egyptian pounds ($82), excluding bank interest. This presents a real problem, as many families will not be able to bear these burdens, making the proposed solution more obstructive than facilitative.”
Question Marks Around the Three-Month Period
In this context, Ilham Eidaroos, founding member of the under-establishment Bread and Freedom Party and one of the tenants affected by the new law, tells Zawia3: “The guidelines announced by the Ministry of Housing regarding applications for alternative units raise major question marks, especially concerning the set time frame for application, which is only three months. Why are tenants being pressured in such a short period, as if they are forced to apply immediately or else lose their rights?”
Eidaroos adds: “Many families, like mine for example, live in old neighborhoods such as Agouza, and their lives are tied to work, schools, and the surrounding community. Naturally, people first look for nearby alternatives—whether through a new agreement with the landlord after the seven-year period ends, or via the private sector market—before considering moving to distant social housing units in the new cities. But the problem is that applying for government units is effectively a waiver of the old rent contract, and therefore a waiver of the legal right to housing during the remaining years. This means that the tenant loses their bargaining chip with the landlord early, and is obligated to pay a deposit for the new unit even if it doesn’t suit them.”
She continues: “My interpretation is one of two things: either the state is trying to push people into early relinquishment of rental contracts in order to dismantle the phenomenon quickly, or it realizes that the available alternative units will not be enough for all tenants, and is using the three-month period as a way to close the file later by claiming it gave people a chance and whoever didn’t apply has lost their right.”
Eidaroos concluded her statement by saying: “This confirms what we warned about from the beginning: alternative housing is not a real solution, but rather a deception that does not compensate tenants for the disaster the state created by liberalizing rent contracts. Previous experiences have proven this, and we were clear from the start in warning that alternative housing is just a big trap.”
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Fundamental Problems in Applications and Procedures
For his part, Yehia Shawkat, a researcher in housing and urban affairs, tells Zawia3: “The Ministry of Housing has already started the phase of surveying tenants who need or wish to obtain alternative housing, with the aim of determining the required number of units and distributing them among different categories, whether social, middle-income, or luxury housing units.”
“But there is a fundamental problem,” Shawkat says, “as tenants are being asked to provide a large amount of personal data, without any clarification on the reasons for collecting it, or even announcing the application criteria as is usually done in housing projects. What’s more alarming is the requirement to submit a declaration of waiving the rented unit, even though this phase is still exploratory, and no details have yet been announced about the nature of the alternative units or the conditions for obtaining them.”
The housing and urban researcher warns that “this situation may lead many tenants to refrain from registering on the platform, despite their actual need for alternative housing. This would ultimately reflect on the survey results, making them inaccurate and unrepresentative of reality.”
He concludes by saying: “Overall, it would have been better for the government to focus on providing a rent support program instead of heading toward constructing additional units and placing new burdens on tenants that they may not be able to bear.”
In the same context, Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, urban researcher and co-founder of the Urban Space Studies Forum, tells Zawia3: “The government’s announcement of opening reservations for housing units for old rent tenants starting from October for only three months clearly reveals an attempt to pressure tenants within a short time frame. The new law grants a seven-year period before the rental relationship is liberalized, but the Ministry of Housing is practically seeking to shorten the time available to tenants so they don’t resort to other alternatives, such as challenging the law or insisting on not vacating the units. I have already received inquiries from tenants asking about the procedures for applying to the new apartments, and this in itself reflects a government strategy to distract people from the core of the problem: the crisis of liberalizing the rental relationship.”
Ezz El-Din adds: “What’s striking is that the application announcement came before the issuance of the law’s executive regulations, which is an incomprehensible move. The regulations are the tool expected to define the evaluation of areas and the rental value in each, and therefore it would have been natural to wait for their release before proceeding with any implementation steps.”
He continues: “It is clear that the government is showing insistence on vacating old rent units and pushing tenants to give them up in exchange for new ones. This is despite the fact that the Constitutional Court ruling did not stipulate the full liberalization of the rental relationship, but only the adjustment of rental values. This raises serious questions about the government’s real intentions, and whether the ultimate goal is to take control of these buildings after a certain period.”
The researcher points out that “the documents required from tenants represent a clear picture of government bureaucracy, as the ministry requests complicated paperwork such as proof of marriage or divorce, family registration, or disability certificates, while the basic and obvious proof is simply that I am a tenant residing in this apartment, without the need for all these complications.”
Ezz El-Din concludes his statement by saying: “The units offered by the government are practically priced at market value, without any real support or facilities. This means that the tenant who used to pay a small rent will find themselves forced to pay many times more than they used to, without any consideration for their economic and social circumstances. In the end, what the government proposes does not address the root of the crisis, but rather opens a new path where tenants lose their right to their old units and face unfair alternatives.”
The old rent law, following the latest amendments, remains one of the most controversial files in Egypt’s housing policies. While the law allows landlords to reclaim their units after seven years, it places tenants in a new reality lacking sufficient social and economic guarantees. The crisis does not lie only in regulating the rental relationship, but in the absence of a comprehensive vision for housing policies that considers the rights of both parties and provides realistic, applicable alternatives. With the continued ambiguity in application procedures, the limited timeframe, and the high cost of alternative units, the question remains: Do these policies address the root causes of the crisis, or do they open the door to a deeper housing crisis in the coming years?
