Obtain property tax statement from the Tax authority
Agency: Local Propety Tax Authority
Prior to transferring any property, the parties would typically obtain an official property tax statement from the Real Estate Tax Authority, which is required by the Land Registry. The purpose of this document is to serve as proof that the property has undergone a tax assessment and is registered as the Real Estate Tax Authority, which seems to be a requirement based on the explanatory note of the Notary Public Law No. 114 of 1946. The cost for obtaining the certificate is provided for under Cabinet Decree No. 2920 of 1998.
Time and cost: 1 day, EGP 2.25 (Fast track option)
Check for encumbrances at the district land registry
Agency: District Land Registry
As part of the due diligence, the lawyer will obtain a negative real estate certificate from the district land registry. This certificate will provide information on the ownership of this property and whether there are encumbrances on the property.
Time and cost: 1 day, EGP 30
Request for registration presented by the buyer to the Real Estate Registry
Agency: Real Estate Registry
Following negotiations and an agreement on all material terms of the contract, the buyer pays the seller the requested price, and the buyer subsequently goes to the Real Estate Registry to request registration. At this juncture, the buyer pays the 2.000 EGP registration fee for the property over 300 m2. Subsequently, the request is transferred internally to the Egyptian Surveying Authority to complete a survey of the land, as applicable.
Time and cost: 1 day, EGP 2,000
(Fees set in Law 83 of 2006:
- Until 100 m2: EGP 500
- 100-200 m2: EGP 1,000
- 200-300 m2: EGP 1,500
- More than 300m2: EGP 2,000)
Receive site inspection by the Egyptian Surveying Authority
Agency: Egyptian Surveying Authority (“ESA”)
After all documents are delivered to the Notary Public (Administration of Real Estate Publicity & Notarization) for approvals, they are then transferred to the Egyptian Surveying Authority for inspection. Once the payment for the inspection report is done, the officials take the measurements of the boarders, lengths, number of rooms, descriptions and the view of the building. A report “Kashf El Tahdid” is prepared. The report contains a description of the property, its boundaries and its surface area. The report is subsequently delivered to the Measurement Department.
Time and cost: 30 days, Paid in Procedure 2
Obtain the Measurement Department’s approval of the inspection report and the Real Estate Registry’s acceptance of the request for registration
Agency: Measurement Department/Real Estate Registry
Following the Egyptian Surveying Authority’s inspection, the report produced (called Kashf Tahdeed) must be approved by the Measurement Department. Additionally, the notary public at the Real estate registry will review the measurement report. It is only after the second review that the notary will approve the document to allow the lawyer to prepare the contract. The entire report is then internally transferred to the Real Estate Registry for acceptance of (1) the inspection report and (2) the request for registration. The Real Estate Registry also conducts an engineering and legal review of the request and grants approval by stamping the documents “approved to be authenticated” (maqbul ” مقبول للشهر “). The approved documents are then released to the parties. At this stage, the parties also obtain a special, stamped form from the Real Estate Registry, on which they will subsequently print their contract.
Time and cost: 21 days, no charge
The final contract is presented to the lawyer’s syndicate for verification/ratification
Agency: Egyptian Bar Association
The parties’ lawyer drafts contract (called Mashroaa Mohrar) on the special form obtained from the Real Estate Registry. The parties/their lawyer subsequently deliver(s) the contract to the lawyers’ syndicate for verification: the lawyer who drafts the contract ascribes his syndicate identification number to the form, and the lawyers’ syndicate must verify/certify that the involved lawyer is indeed registered with the syndicate.
Time and cost: 1 day, EGP 21,992.44 (1% of property value (but no more than EGP 25,000))
Obtain the Real Estate Registry’s approval of the contract (Mashroaa Mohrar)
Agency: Real Estate Registry
After collecting the contract from the Lawyer’s Syndicate, the parties then deliver the contract (Mashroaa Mohrar) to the Real Estate Registry for review and if it is accepted, the documents will be stamped by the Real Estate Registry as “approved to be registered.”
Time and cost: 10 days, no charge
Authentication before the Notary Public
Agency: Notary Public
After receiving the contract (Mashroaa Mohrar) stamped “approved to be registered” by the Real Estate Registry, the parties proceed before the competent Notary Public to sign and authenticate the contract.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
The buyer delivers the contract to the Real Estate Registry for “legalization of the contract” and the registration number is delivered
Agency: Real Estate Registry
The buyer delivers the contract to the Real Estate Registry for review of the notarized contract. The Real Estate Registry will make a final decision as to the “legalization of the contract,” because the Registry retains the authority to suspend the contract notwithstanding its notarization.
Before issuing the registration number, the Technical and Financial Departments of the Real Estate Registry shall review the Contract in case there are any errors in it. In case there are no errors in the Contract, it should be ready to have its registration number issued.
Once the Registry has granted its approval, a registration number is issued and the registration process is complete.
Time and cost: 10 days, no charge
