Controversial amendments to the Real Estate Registry Act look like they will be introduced at the end of December instead of this coming Saturday, after the Madbouly Cabinet submitted proposed legislative amendments allowing the prime minister to postpone the changes coming into effect, according to a statement. The House of Representatives will put the proposed postponement to a discussion later today, after receiving preliminary approval from the Constitutional Affairs Committee yesterday, committee undersecretary Ali Badr told Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa. New changes will likely be introduced to the bill to no longer make getting access to basic utilities contingent on paying the 2.5% property disposal tax (watch, runtime: 7:32).

Until the bill receives a final vote, the property disposal tax will not be applicable to any properties that are registered, Real Estate Registry head Gamal Yacout explained to Moussa (watch, runtime: 1:30). And if your property is already connected to basic utilities, there’s nothing forcing you to register your property, since the bill does not retroactively revoke utility access, Yacout explained to Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 5:19). If you want to change the name that shows up on your electricity bills, however, you will need to go through the registry process, Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad told Lamees (watch, runtime: 11:05). The levy can be paid in installments, Saad said.

DID YOU KNOW? Only 5% of apartments and other properties across the entire country are actually registered at the Real Estate Registry, Justice Minister Omar Marwan told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 1:30).

Background: Changes to the Real Estate Registry Act — which have been in the works since early 2020 — were supposed to come into force as of Saturday, 6 March after being passed in February. The changes would require a visit to a local ma’moreya and a judge to validate property sale and purchase agreements before heading down to the Real Estate Registry, and would make registering new property a requirement before getting access to basic utility infrastructure. The changes caused confusion as people thought that the government is introducing a new 2.5% tax on real estate disposal, leading the Finance Ministry to clarify that the changes are only administrative, and that the levy has been flat since 1996.

OTHER LEGISLATION NEWS-

• The House Industry Committee is considering a new law to simplify the process for electing members of the Federation of Egyptian Industries board.
• A law regulating blood donation and the manufacturing and collection of plasma earned preliminary sign-off from the House general assembly, with the final vote scheduled for a later session.