LEGISLATION WATCH- House committees finalize Unified Building Code draft: The House housing, constitutional, and local management committees have finalized a draft of the Unified Building Code (pdf), which will now be put up for discussion in a plenary session. The long-awaited amendments would streamline procedures and cut red tape to obtain building permits, and would make permits valid for three years instead of one. The amendments would also, if passed, impose harsher penalties on violators and state officials found guilty of not acting to penalize building code violations, especially for building on agricultural land. It also requires developers putting up buildings taller than five storeys or valued at over EGP 3 mn to buy insurance against construction-related damage to cover for any damages during construction and the guarantee period.

Background: The House of Representatives had said the Unified Building Code and a temporary legislation on settling building code violations would be passed together, since the two laws are closely intertwined. The executive regulations for the two bills were also expected to be issued last year.