Egypt reviews concessions to speed up building-violation settlements
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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has ordered ministries to finalise a revised settlement scheme for unlicensed buildings, with fees tied to local market values and legalisation targeted within 12 months of the law being amended.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has reviewed plans to ease the country's building-violation settlement scheme, the cabinet said, in a push to legalise a large share of the country's unlicensed building stock and simplify procedures for owners.
The meeting was attended by Manal Awad, minister of local development and environment; Alaa El-Din Farouk, minister of agriculture and land reclamation; Mostafa El-Naggar, head of the housing and utilities sector at the housing ministry; and Hossam Rashed, head of the agriculture ministry's central administration for land protection.
Discussions drew on the targets and recommendations of the Egypt Forum 2026 on the settlement file, which call for simpler procedures to speed up legalisation and for the process to be completed within 12 months of an amendment to the law being passed. The recommendations also ask that assessments take account of people's social circumstances and ability to pay.
According to the cabinet, the proposals include settlement fees that reflect differences in market values between areas, a distinction between private housing for low-income families and commercial or investment use, wider use of affordable instalment plans, incentives for early payment and fewer documents for applicants.
Madbouly said the government attached great importance to the file because it directly affects a large share of citizens, and that problems which emerged in applying the law needed to be fixed, with tangible concessions required to widen the number of beneficiaries. He instructed officials to contact members of the House of Representatives who have submitted proposals and amendments to the draft settlement law to agree wording that reflects different views.
Officials also discussed revising the conditions and paperwork required, changing how settlement fees are assessed and updating payment and instalment systems, aiming to balance citizens' social and economic circumstances with fair pricing and the protection of the state's rights.
Madbouly said the amendments should make settlement easier for citizens while introducing controls to stop violations recurring and to close the door on new unlicensed construction as part of a wider push for planning discipline. Ministries and agencies were directed to finish coordination quickly, refine the proposed procedures and complete legislative drafting so that the legal changes and the systems needed to apply them are ready together.