Egypt's parliament to review 'unconstitutional' decades-old rent law

Egypt's lower-house of the parliament is slated to amend an over 40-year-old rent law related to residential units following a recent ruling deemed the much-criticised legislation as "unconstitutional".

On 9 November, the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court annulled the first two articles of Law 136 of 1981 that regulates the tenant-landlord relationship, dubbed "the old rent law".

Law 136 of 1981 dictates that the rental value can only be raised annually by 7% based on the price of land at the time the construction licence was granted, failing to take into account economic variables such as inflation and currency devaluation.

In the reasons of the judgment released on Sunday, the constitutional court said the articles in question are "unfair" to landlords, constitute "a violation" of their "ownership rights," and are "against the Islamic Sharia law."

The verdict is final and cannot be appealed.