The registration of real estate is necessary from the outset in order to ensure the validity of the title to the property and to ensure its enforceability against third parties.
In the Arab Republic of Egypt, the registration of real estate is governed by the Egyptian Civil Code No. 131 of the year 1948, Real Estate Registration Law No. 114 of the year 1946, as well as the Law amending the Real Estate Registration Law No. 9 of the year 2022.
Before the issuance of the Real Estate Registration Law No. 9 of the year 2022, the procedures for real estate registration were very complicated, and many people found difficulty in registering their properties. Accordingly, Egypt introduced the aforementioned law, which amends some provisions to the previous law to put an end to all these complications and make the registration process as simple as possible.
In the following, we will figure out the property cases subject to registration, the Property Registration Authority, the whole process of registering your property according to Law No.114 of the year 1946 and Law No. 9 of the year 2022 and the Documents required for registration, which now takes a maximum period of 37 days (instead of 2 years as per the old law) of which 30 days are for registration and 7 days are for any complaints.
A) Property cases subject to registration:
- Any act (or contract) that leads to the transfer, creation, modification, extinction, or confirmation of a principal or an ancillary real right (such as ownership, usufruct, habitation, Hikr, mortgage, and pledge). An example of this case is a consensual sale contract or a contract for the division of joint property;
- Final Judgments on the transfer, creation, modification, extinction, or confirmation of the mentioned principal or accessory real rights;
- Leases and other documents relating to the use of the property, if the term of the document exceeds 9 years;
- Release and transfer of more than three years' rent in advance;
- Statutory declaration of Inheritance or any other act confirming the right to inherit; and
- Claims to any of the real rights, and claims to the validity of the real rights contract.
B) Property Registration Authority
Each notary office is solely responsible for notarizing documents related to real estate that fall within its jurisdiction.
If the real estate is located within the jurisdiction of multiple offices, the registration must be conducted in each office.
C) Required documents for registration
In general, the required documents are as follows nevertheless, additional documents may be required that vary according to the property cases mentioned above.
- Information confirming the identity of the parties to the contract to be registered, their powers, and their role in the contract;
- Official map coordinates showing the location of the property, or any other official document providing this information;
- Declaration of the owner of any existing personal or real rights to the property to be registered;
- The title deed of the real estate to be registered (the title deed contract of the seller or the previous owner); and
- A power of attorney from the seller authorizing the buyer to sign the final deed of sale before the real estate notary, in the case of a sale contract.
D) Registration Procedures according to the law and practice
- The holder of the right of registration, or his representative, then submits an application to the competent Real Estate Registry where the real estate is located;
- The application can also be made online on the website of the Registry. However, the website is not always available;
- The applicant must submit all the required documents;
- The applicant fills in the required information on the application form, thereby creating a draft of the document to be registered;
- The application must be signed by both parties to the contract or the beneficiary of the document in other types of documents such as court judgments;
- The applicant submits the application together with the prescribed fees (specified in the application);
- The official receives the application and assigns it to a number and a date and time of receipt. If more than one application has been submitted to the Notary for the same property, they will be examined in chronological order of their date of submission to the Notary. Each application will not be examined before the previous one;
- Within 24 hours, the applicant will receive a text message to the phone number provided in his application, confirming the initial acceptance of his application or its rejection if the required information is not provided;
- In the case of missing documents, the procedure will be suspended, and the applicant will be notified to remedy the deficiency within 15 days;
- Officials examine the documents and sign them as ready for registration, and then they are documented or, in the case of unofficial documents, ratified;
- The application and the documents are then returned to the competent registry office to be certified, copied, stored, and recorded in the specialized books of the registry, all within 37 days from the date of submission of the application;
- The document is recorded as registered; and
- The applicant is notified by a text message that the process is complete and that the document has been successfully registered.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.