Tens of millions of Egyptians stay locked out of homeownership whereas round two million residences sit empty, hoarded by households as inflation-proof property slightly than houses.
Whereas over 67 p.c of Egyptians, equating to 72 million on the time, personal residences, according to the World Financial institution in 2019, the “closed residences” phenomenon has turn out to be a logo of financial inequality.
Newest estimates of the Egypt Residential Property Market Evaluation 2025 reveal that almost 5.6 million city housing items in Egypt are unused, both vacant or sealed off fully, together with 2.89 million items unoccupied by households who owned one other residence.
Weak rental markets because of lingering distrust between landlords and tenants, beneficiant capital good points from property worth hikes, and a behavior of preserving actual property as a safe funding by the prosperous are a few of the various reasons why many Egyptians cannot afford houses.
Economically, the “closed residences” phenomenon has created a paradox through which many properties stay unoccupied regardless of widespread housing insecurity, the place residents lack secure and reasonably priced houses, leaving Egypt’s surging demand for reasonably priced housing unmet.
In August 2025, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ratified amendments to Egypt’s outdated lease regime, known as Legislation No. 164/165 of 2025, eradicating many years of fixed-rate, inheritable leases and paving the way in which for a gradual return of those items to the market beneath phrases aligned with the Civil Code.
The “Outdated Lease Legislation,” Legislation No. 136 of 1981, regulated landlord–tenant relations by imposing traditionally low mounted rents, in some circumstances as little as USD 1 (EGP 48.6) a month. It additionally gave tenants lifelong occupancy, typically passing the lease on to their kids, whereas considerably limiting landlords’ rights.
The brand new laws units phased transition intervals, seven years for residential items and 5 for business leases, after which landlords could reclaim properties. It additionally introduces structured lease will increase of 15 p.c annually and tenant protections, together with access to various housing.
Housing Affordability at Danger
In the meantime, housing costs proceed to soar.
New developments in upscale areas like New Cairo and sixth of October Metropolis have seen property values spike by 175 to 180 p.c year-on-year, with rents climbing over 100%, in response to experiences in 2024. The most affordable low-income items price as much as USD 14,000 (EGP 677,855) as of 2025, rising 15 to twenty p.c yearly, whereas wages inch ahead at simply 1 p.c progress.
Regardless of Egypt’s speedy tempo of latest housing building, constructing round 1.5 million housing units in a decade, reasonably priced choices stay inaccessible for a lot of the low- and middle-income inhabitants.
Specialists argue this fuels the enlargement of slums, a tragic final result provided that round 13.2 million Egyptians reside in casual housing, as of 2021.
The federal government, through the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund and Central Financial institution initiatives, has launched sponsored mortgage packages with rates of interest as low as three percent for eligible low- and middle-income households. These packages provide lengthy reimbursement phrases, as much as 30 years, and contain public-private partnerships to broaden the reasonably priced housing provide.
Moreover, the Housing Minister and authorities have initiated insurance policies tackling unlawful and unfinished buildings by imposing laws and offering comfortable loans to finish and regularize such constructions in 2015. The objective was to extend housing and sort out safety risks from illegal buildings.