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Egypt is facing renewed public debate over its long-standing old rent system as newly approved increases begin taking effect in several governorates, raising questions about implementation timelines, legal challenges and the future of Law No. 164 of 2025.
About 1.6 million households live in units under the old rent system, accounting for approximately 7% of all households in Egypt at the time of the census.
The total number of units rented under the old rent system nationwide stands at around 3.019 million units, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In recent weeks, the long-standing file of old rent has once again returned to the forefront of public debate, fueled by growing controversy over the start of implementing newly approved increases in rental values for residential and commercial units.
This renewed debate follows the completion of survey committees tasked with classifying residential areas in several governorates under the new framework that effectively abolishes the decades-old system of fixed annual rents.
Last July, the Egyptian Parliament approved Law No. 164 of 2025, widely referred to as the Old Rent Law. The law came into force in September and aims to redefine the relationship between landlords and tenants after years of legal and political contention.
Rent-control mechanisms in Egypt originated during World War II and expanded through the 1950s and 1960s as the state sought to regulate housing costs.
Two key pieces of legislation, Law No. 49 of 1977 and Law No. 136 of 1981, further entrenched fixed rental values and extended tenancy rights to family members across generations. This system resulted in the long-term freezing of rents for both residential and commercial units, generating a substantial gap between actual and market rental values.
Beyond the numbers, these long-standing arrangements also helped sustain a stable social fabric in older neighborhoods, where the same families have resided for decades.
As the implementation of the new law begins, the divide between landlords and tenants has sharpened. Landlords argue that the current rental values, frozen for decades, no longer cover property maintenance costs or reflect rising land values, especially in older urban areas.
Tenants, meanwhile, warn that any rapid repeal of the old system could displace millions of families who have lived under fixed rents for generations. Both sides continue to appeal to the state, each claiming its own form of vulnerability.
Under the new law, the Old Rent Unit Survey Committees are responsible for classifying residential areas nationwide into three tiers: economic, middle-income, and premium. These classifications determine the rent increases applicable in each zone.
Law No. 164 of 2025 raises monthly rental values according to this three-tier system:
As a result, thousands of residents under the old rent system are bracing for significant changes to their monthly payments.
The committees began working officially on Sept. 4 following decrees issued by local governors. Their work has so far been completed in 12 governorates: Menoufia, Fayoum, Luxor, Aswan, Kafr El-Sheikh, Ismailia, Giza, Qalyubia, Minya, Sohag, Sharqia and Qena.
The government had initially expected the remaining governorates to be classified before January 2026.
However, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly recently issued a decision extending the committees’ mandate for an additional three months starting Nov. 5.
This delay has triggered concern among tenants, who are questioning when the newly approved increases will actually go into effect.
Their worries intensified after the official gazette published the three-tier classifications for the 12 completed governorates, signaling that new rental values would take effect beginning this December.
Despite the law only recently coming into effect, discussions about revisiting its provisions are already underway.
Shereef El-Jaaar, head of the Tenants Union, said he is optimistic that Parliament will reopen the Old Rent Law, noting that a new amendment proposal is being drafted.
According to parliamentary sources, the law may return to the House in February, as several new MPs plan to submit requests for substantial revisions, particularly concerning transitional periods, currently set at seven years for residential units and five years for commercial properties.
El-Jaaar confirmed that amendments are expected in the next parliamentary session. He added that, in response to the debate over the implementation of rent increases, he has filed appeals on behalf of several tenants challenging the new measures.
The hearing for these appeals has been postponed to Feb. 21, leaving the legal landscape “unresolved,” as he described it.
He noted that ongoing developments lack clarity and have created a widespread state of confusion and concern among citizens.
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