Among endless comments, most of them related to the continuous increase in prices and declining living standards, and some of them are political related to the course of the battles in Gaza and Lebanon, a surprising decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court in Egypt. came, on Saturday, to shift the focus of attention to another issue entirely, this time related to the rental of housing units.
For decades, there has been widespread controversy in Egypt regarding so-called “old rent” contracts, according to which millions of Egyptians live in housing under lease contracts with no fixed period and with a rental value that is not changed a lot over several decades. , which means in practice that it is now at a price that is not insignificant considering the average rent Inflation over several years, which led one owner of a residential unit to report the value of the rent as “egg price.”
Nevertheless, there are concerns among tenants who also want their right to a fair rent.
The current law states that the tenant has the right to remain inside the rented unit as long as he pays the rent, and the landlord does not have the right to – accept eviction and leave the unit only with a legal decision.
The decision of the Supreme Constitutional Court recently came to stir unsettled waters in the Egyptian legal system, as it ruled that Articles (1 and 2) of Law No. 136 of 1981, regarding fixed rent for residential premises, unconstitutional the court set the day after the end of the ordinary legislative session in the House of Representatives as the date for the implementation of its rule.
The first paragraph of Article 1 of the law stipulates the following: “With the exception of luxury housing, the annual rent for places with permission to be established for residential purposes from the effective date of the provisions of this law may not be higher than 7% of the value of the land and buildings, as long as the area leased to them is not less than 7% of the value of the land and buildings.”
The first paragraph of Article 2 of the law says: “The value of the land in relation to the places indicated in the first paragraph of the previous article will be calculated according to the best price when the building is approved , and the value of the properties. be calculated according to the actual cost at the time of construction If it is proved that the owner was willfully negligent in preparing the building It was intended to complete the work, without prejudice to the right of the government able to complete the work in accordance with the rules that govern it. “
The court pointed out in its decision that the decision of the lease must be based on objective controls aimed at achieving a balance between the two parties in the lease relationship, which the legislator must intervene to achieve this balance.
The court said that the two conflicting texts lead to fixing the value of the rent “at a certain time in a way that does not change if decades have passed since the date it was determined, and the increase does not affect him. in inflation rates, a reduction in the purchasing power of the annual rental value, or a decline in the return on investment of the leased asset to the point of nothing.” right to property.”
According to the executive part of the ruling, the deadline for its implementation is the day after the end of the ordinary legislative session of the House of Representatives, which means that Parliament has access from now until the end change the session. both paragraphs.
The regular session began in October and continued for 9 months, and after its conclusion, in June or July 2025, the implementation of the decision is supposed to begin. If the Parliament produces legislation in this period, it is expected that we will see an increase in rent. If the House of Representatives does not produce legislation and the regulation is implemented, the landlords have the right to file an eviction lawsuit against the tenant based on the constitutional regulation.
On social media, supporters of the law change described the court’s ruling as “historic” and striking a balance in the relationship between landlord and tenant.
Mohamed Attia Al-Fayoumi, Chairman of the Housing Committee of the House of Representatives, said in statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm that “the decision is binding on all parties,” indicating that the committee will continue their first meeting in the coming period after that. receiving the written merits of the decision from the court for discussion.
He explained that if the House of Representatives does not issue a new law during the current legislative session, the regulation will be enforceable, and if no law is issued, the courts will have jurisdiction over to confirm rent. He continued: “The landlord will file a case in court, which will determine the value of the rent, so it is important that the House of Representatives intervenes and accelerates a system that relates to everyone. “
On social media and traditional media, a situation of controversy arose between landlords and tenants regarding the court’s decision.
The legal advisor to the Tenants’ Association, Michel Halim, said in an intervention with the “Al-Hekaya” program that the fair increase, in his opinion, should be 5 times the current rental value, with an increase annual, citing in this opinion another law published in 2022.
The House of Representatives approved an amendment to the law on renting to legal persons for purposes other than housing, allowing rent to increase by 15 percent each year for a period of 5 years, after which the unit will be transferred to the -owner by force of law.
For his part, Mustafa Abdel Rahman, head of the Coalition of Old Property Owners, spoke about the “injustice and oppression” that owners of residential units have been subjected to for 43 years because of this law.
He said: “We are able to pay 43 years’ rent of 3 pounds and 4 pounds. According to reports reported by the coalition’s Facebook page, he proposed to increase the rental amount to 2,000 pounds (about 40 dollars), and that the time to settle the situation would be three years, after which a contract would be new designed between tenant and tenant. the landlord.
One of the comments about the management on the “X” platform said: “The management is good, but the most important thing is the implementation it means nothing to the owner.”
Another wrote, “The member is now in the court of the House of Representatives. We hope that the new law will come out in an appropriate manner, that it will be free from any defects, and that it will get it is a fair chance, and this balance will not be at the expense of one party to satisfy the other.”
Another wrote: “The law needs to be implemented immediately they are not many.”
But on the other hand, others expressed that they were afraid of evicting tenants who do not accept the increases.
A comment said: “And the millions of Egyptians who can’t pay for food or medicine (they can’t get food and medicine), will they be thrown on the street for not paying the new lease?”
Another indicates that the landlord acquired his rights when he received a “large sum” from the tenant when he signed the lease, known as “absence of a person” in Egypt. .
He asked, “Now the owner wants his right and it has already been taken.”
2024-11-10 10:59:00
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