Housing Minister Ahmed el-Maghraby said the government planned to introduce gradual amendments to the law regulating apartment rentals in coming months. The amendments will begin with flats rented to expatriates, companies and shops.
“Now the landlords are screaming,” the minister said at a symposium held at Cairo’s Gezira Club on Wednesday. “But if we change the law abruptly, we’ll hear tenants screaming.”
El-Maghraby called on tenants to abide by the amendment to the law, which will oblige them to contribute to the maintenance of the buildings in which they live. Under the old law, this was the responsibility of landlords–one that was often neglected since maintenance costs frequently outstripped the rents they receive.
The minister also said his ministry would complete new sewage networks in 25 cities nationwide by next July, after which it would begin extending the networks into local villages. “Will will have covered all Egyptian cities by then,” he explained. “As to the villages, we plan to cover them all in four years.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
