How to register your property in Egypt?

Do you know that if you buy a property, whether an apartment or land, you will not be the owner thereof unless and until after you register the sales agreement under the provisions of Law 114 of 1946 on Regulation of Real Estate Registration as amended by Law 9 of 2022. Here, a question arises; if you own an apartment, villa, or land in the Arab Republic of Egypt, how to register your property in Egypt?

In this article, we will cover the following topics:-

1. Property Registration Authority;

2. Registration process according to Law 114 of 1946 and Law 9 of 2022;

3. Documents required for registration; and

4. Deed registration with the main office; and obtaining a registration reference number.

1. Property Registration Authority

(a) The real estate registry within which the property to be registered is located.

(b) The area of the real estate registry.

2. Registration process under Law 9 of 2022 for Consensual Registration 

1. The application for registration request is submitted to the competent department by hand. All fees and expenses are paid under a receipt with a reference number.

2- Within 24 hours, a text message will be sent to the phone number mentioned in the application, stating the following:

a. The application is entered in the register book where the required documents are completed.

b. The application will not be registered in case the required documents are not completed.

c. Postponing examination of the application if it is preceded by an application until the final decision is made on the previous application. The application examination period, i.e. thirty-seven days shall be calculated from the date of the final decision on the previous application.

3. Applying for deed signature and ratification at the concerned department.

4. Issuance of the notarized deed and receiving it from the concerned main office. 

Note that the application may be submitted online, as indicated by the Executive Regulations of Law 9 of 2022 amending certain provisions of Law 114 of 1946 on Regulation of Real Estate Registration.

Important:

Applications for the registration shall be submitted to the concerned main office of which jurisdiction the property falls on such form as issued by a decision of the Minister of Justice regarding each case of registration.

The Ministry of Justice’s forms include the required documents in each case of the registration, including: -

(1) Occurrence of a material event (Consensual Registration)

(2) Registration of Disposal of a notarized deed;

(3) Registration of petition for contract registration;

(4) Registration of a final court ruling; and

(5) Registration of inheritance rights. 

3. Documents required for registration

Title deed, certificate of properties, and inheritance notice if the sale is made from an heir. These documents shall be submitted along with a folder including the list of the documents, their number, date, and date of submission, by placing the stamp of the technical member (Officer) with the phrase “Attached”, then presented and submitted after placing the stamp thereon to the Application Registry Officer to present the Application again after being completed. 

The Application undergoes a process of three to five days.

 (The application and documents attached thereto are examined and checked by the concerned technical member for eligibility, capacity, authority, and origin of ownership. He shall ensure that the property is registered in the name of the seller in assignment and description, the reference of property tax, and licenses for real estate built after 2.6.1992, the application deadlines and limitation, and the requests on the property and the comparison between them)

The application shall be delivered to the concerned person or his agent, along with the survey identification statement and the other documents for editing the draft deed on the blue stamped paper.

- Hence, the first step of the registration is then completed; i.e. applications, and technical, formal, and objective review, in preparation for obtaining the validity of the title deed for registration; and sending the draft to the concerned main office for registration of the deed after obtaining the validity of the registration from the office. 

4. Deed registration with the main office; and obtaining a registration reference number.

This step falls within the responsibility of the registration main office. The concerned person receives a free-of-charge initial copy of the notarized deed. The concerned person, or a third party, may apply for one copy or more after paying the prescribed fee.

Finally, we wish that this article clarified to the readers the provisions on How to register a property in Egypt?