CAIRO: Following 20 years of living as an expat in the US, only Adel Samy and a few other Egyptians who have recently returned to their native land could have noticed this phenomenon. As Samy began to settle down in his family's place, a big flat in an old building in Maadi, he discovered that he's the only resident in a row of flats above and below him. The situation was no different in the two other rows of flats in the same building. And as time went by, Samy began to realize that many apartments in the neighboring buildings, also old blocks of flats, were unoccupied as well. One reason for this phenomenon is that the tenants have died and the flat has returned to the landlord. In some cases, the landlord has taken legal action to evict the children of the dead tenants in order to prevent them paying low rents. But in either case the result is the same, especially in posh districts like Maadi, Zamalek or Heliopolis, where many old apartments remain vacant after the tenants passed away or were forced to leave. "I was so deeply saddened to see the district where I spent my childhood and the prime of my youth turning slowly to a kind of semi-wasteland, said Samy. "I understand that this is the way of all flesh, but what about the future? A new life should start in these places. I don't really fancy living amid a bunch of memories with no neighbors to share the block with, complained the repatriate wistfully. Although the new tenancy law has taken the owner's side and secured him against foul play by new tenants, many landlords are reluctant to rent out the vacated flats even when their locations in such plush districts might generate a mouth-watering income. "The motives behind this reserve could vary, said Hassan Mohamed, owner of a building near the American College in Maadi. "It isn't only that landlords are worried that stubborn tenants might refuse to leave as per the contract's terms, argued Hassan. "The property might be shared by a group of inheritors and each could have a different opinion with regard to what should be done. "But certainly a kind of distrust has grown between the owners and the tenants over the years. I know for sure that many have flats elsewhere and insist on keeping ours even when they have used them for many years, he added. Kamel Fathi, another Maadi-based owner said: "Some certainly have the right to keep the flats but they aren't using them! What to do? "This is a new issue that has hardly come to our notice, admitted Dr Mohamed Sweedan, the urban and regional planning consultant and lecturer at the Research Center for Housing, Building and Physical Planning in Cairo. "Definitely, the owner is the aggrieved party in this conflict, judging by the loss suffered by him due to rents remaining at fixed rates for 25 years, starting the 1950s. Owning a building had, therefore, become a losing investment under the old law, added Sweedan. He continued: "Today we do have a housing crisis, but if you examine it closely, it's perfectly clear that it's mostly man-made. The owners of the old buildings aren't encouraged to offer their flats for rent. The more affordable flats in new areas that have been specially-constructed for the youths and low-income group are bought by people who resell them for gain. What else can you expect other than crisis? Sweedan pointed out that landlords will be secure as long as they document the contracts between them and new tenants at 'el shaher el aqari' (the Notary Public), a procedure which takes the force of a court of law and is binding for both parties. "But the question is not solely one of protection, noted Gaber Maher of Maadi Real Estate Services. "For an owner who has for five decades been making LE 1,000 every year, the challenge is really big. "By the time the original tenants quit, more often the flats are in bad shape. The repairs might cost no less than LE 15,000 for each flat. How much do you think an owner would gain if he offers them for LE 600 or LE 1,000 every month? said Maher. "And the majority don't have the money needed to undertake such repairs. Also, whoever is ready to pay LE 1,000 will mostly likely be reluctant to share repairs in a property he's bound to leave in a matter of a year or two, argued the real estate agent. Mohamed Suweilam, who owns an old building in Heliopolis, echoed Maher's words. "The districts around Ramses Street like Ghamra and El Daher are replete with old buildings that have been deserted. Both tenants and owners have passed away and in their present condition the blocks are inhabitable, he said. "True, this has become a phenomenon, for lots of these flats are locked up, Nabil Abdou, another Maadi real estate agent said. He added: "Flats which are 300 square meters can only be afforded by companies. Also, we shouldn't forget that there are relatively old buildings in New Maadi, constructed in the 1980s for example, and those can't be offered for more than LE 1,000 at the most. When there's no demand for them they have to remain empty. Hassan Mohamed stressed that the owners feel more secure to offer the flats for rent to foreigners. Twenta, a big real estate agency in Zamalek, said that the phenomenon might not be as noticeable as in Maadi as it is in Zamalek because of the demand for property close to the city center. "In Maadi only certain areas in Degla and the Golf area are desired by foreigners. But in Zamalek almost all areas are rented by foreigners who pay only in dollars, added one employee at Twenta. Suweilam said of the situation in Heliopolis: "Because the district is so big the locked-up flats are difficult to track down. I have six flats in my buildings. Three I have managed to rent using a new law contract and the other three are still occupied by the old tenants. Sweedan believes that, under the new property law that would make all such unoccupied properties subject to a high tax, many owners will be forced to offer their flats for rent. "But as a housing authority, sooner or later, we will be bound to undertake an ambitious plan to create an inventory of all the buildings countrywide. Under the new plan each building and flat will have an ID and a profile. Only then will we be able to decide on a policy to overcome a crisis as such, he said. He stressed: "But finally we can't force the owner to rent their flats at a loss. The majority of owners of old buildings are looking forward to the day when they can sell them for millions to contractors who would pull them down and raise a posh block of flats in its place. It might be a question of nostalgia for Samy, living in his Maadi apartment, surrounded by empty spaces. But, the phenomenon has its practical aspect too: will Samy be patient enough to wait until the entire building is vacant before he too would leave?
