Another step toward simpler property registration rules: The House of Representatives’ Legislative Committee yesterday gave the nod to amendments to the Real Estate Registry Act, Al Mal reports. The amendments aim to streamline registry procedures by significantly reducing the number of required documents, digitizing parts of the procedure, and putting a time ceiling on the entire process.

Though not without some contention: Some MPs expressed concern that unlike the old law, the newly amended bill does not specify that registration forms are filed with tax offices at no cost. They asked for any fee to be set out in the law and not left to be set in the executive regulations without legislators’ oversight.

A refresher: As things stand, registering real estate requires on-the-ground inspections by notaries, documentation of provenance, and other steps that usually take months and have in the past discouraged property owners from notarizing their deeds. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly decided to streamline the process in order to encourage more notarizations, and the cabinet approved the amendments in November.

What’s next for the bill: The bill will be up for further discussion at a House plenary session (the next is scheduled for Sunday, 6 February). If it gets the final nod, it will be sent to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to be signed into law.