Over 300 families from the Sabea area of Sadat City in Menufia Governorate have threatened to stage a sit-in tomorrow in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Housing and the People's Assembly. The protest comes in light of threats by the Sadat City Development Agency to evict the families from their apartments under the pretext of outstanding debts. The agency issued the eviction orders after the overdue payments to the Housing and Development Bank were not paid. “Three years ago, we applied to buy housing from the Sadat City Development Agency for LE36,000 per flat, under a four-part installment plan. However, we were surprised by the accumulated interest on the flats that we bought, and did not know they were owned by the agency. The cost for one flat rose to LE55,000. The agency sent us ultimatums notifying us that are contracts were null and void and that we had to vacate the apartments. The Urban Communities Authority threatened to evict us or seek an eviction order from the court,” said Sabah Abdullah Ghubashi, a resident in the complex. Souad Abdel Wahab, another resident said, “We were taken aback when the Sadat City Development Agency sent us overdue payments on our apartments. When we consulted with officials, they unexpectedly told us that the residential units are owned by the agency. They informed the owners, who bought the flats on an installment plan, that when we failed to repay the dues, the cost of a single flat was raised to LE55,000 due to accumulated interest.” Translated from the Arabic Edition.
