Real estate registration "optional" for those who already have all basic facilities

CAIRO – 25 February 2021: The head of the Real Estate Registration Authority, Gamal Yaqout, confirmed that registering real estate will be completely optional if the basic facilities have already been delivered to the property.

The head of the authority explained, in a TV interview, that the Real Estate Registration Law requires real estate registration for the delivery of those facilities, and those facilities that have already been connected will not be cut off.

Yaqoot said that property whose legal status is sound will automatically increase its price if sold after that.

He pointed out that the real estate tax of 2.5 percent is "very high", in light of real estate prices, calling on the concerned authorities to reduce it to encourage citizens to adhere to registering their properties.

On Wednesday, Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait confirmed that no new tax has been imposed on real estate transactions, and that there is no intention to increase the burden on citizens.

“We only aim to obtain the state's legal right to enhance spending on improving the standard of living and public services,” the minister clarified.