Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Saturday directed provincial governors to immediately begin forming committees to survey properties subject to the country's "old rent" law, as a first step towards implementing a new landlord-tenant regulation. The directive was issued during a meeting of the council of governors at the government's headquarters in New Alamein city. Madbouly stressed the government's commitment to implementing Law No. 164 of 2025, which regulates some provisions of rent laws and reorganises the relationship between landlords and tenants, after it was ratified by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The cabinet recently approved a decision outlining the rules for these survey committees, which will be tasked with identifying and classifying areas with residential properties under the old rent system. "It is required that all governors immediately begin implementing this, and ensure full coordination with the relevant ministries and authorities so that these committees produce accurate results and the law is applied with complete impartiality," Madbouly said. The committees will be chaired by a senior official in each governorate and will include technical and legal experts, as well as representatives from the ministries of housing and finance, the Egyptian General Survey Authority, and the Real Estate Tax Authority. The prime minister added that citizens will be required to submit a declaration, taking legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided. The committees will have three months to complete their work, after which the governor will issue a decision based on their findings. The survey will classify areas as distinguished, average, or economy-class to determine the minimum rent during a seven-year transitional period stipulated by the new law. During the same meeting, Minister of Local Development, Manal Awad, said that 1,298 plots of land within urban boundaries, totalling 61.2 million square metres, have been identified for building alternative housing projects. She stated that these lands are slated to be handed over to the Ministry of Housing to begin construction. Awad also reviewed the results of the 26th wave of removing encroachments on state-owned and agricultural lands, which took place from May 10 to July 25, 2025. A total of 45,891 cases were dealt with, including the recovery of 11,742 state-owned properties and the removal of 24,503 illegal structures and 9,646 encroachments on agricultural land. The 27th wave, which began on Aug. 9 and runs until Oct. 24, targets over 245,000 cases.
