Rental contracts and deposits in Egypt: what the law says and what to check before you sign

The law behind your lease

Any home you rent today, furnished or unfurnished, is let under the Civil Code: Law 4 of 1996 applies it to every home that was never let before, or whose old lease ended with nobody left with a right to stay. Under Article 147 of the Civil Code a contract is the law of the parties, so what you sign is what binds you and the landlord. Where the contract is silent, the Civil Code's default rules apply, and some of them, like your right to leave when your job moves you, can't be signed away.

Our guide to the 2025 rent law for tenants explains how new rent differs from old rent, and how a lease ends.

Put it in writing

The law doesn't require a lease to be written, but a written contract is the only practical protection you have. It should state:

• Both parties by full name and national ID or passport number, and the owner's name if someone else signs
• The home: address, building, floor and unit number, and what's included, such as parking or furniture
• The term: start date, end date, and how either side can renew or end it. If no term is agreed or it can't be proven, the lease runs one rent period at a time (Article 563)
• The rent: the amount, the due date and how you pay. If no date is agreed, rent is due on the dates local custom sets (Article 586)
• Any increase: the percentage or amount, how often, and from when. The law sets none for you
• The deposit: the amount, what it can cover, and when and how the balance comes back
• Who pays what. If the contract is silent, the landlord pays the taxes on the property and flat-rate water, and you pay metered water, electricity, gas and other personal use (Article 567)
• Subletting: whether it's allowed, including short stays. If the contract says nothing, you may sublet (Article 593)
• What happens on a breach. Look for a clause saying the lease "ends automatically" if you miss a payment (Article 158). It lets the landlord end the lease without a court, after formal notice unless that's waived too, so know what you're signing
• Signatures of both parties on every page

Check who you're renting from

• The owner. Ask for the owner's national ID and proof of ownership: a registered deed, or the full chain of sale contracts back to the developer or a registered owner. Check the name matches the person signing your lease.
• Someone signing for the owner. Ask to see the power of attorney, check that it covers renting out this home, and call the owner yourself.
• An agent (wasit). Check the agent on Feinh Verify before you pay anything, and ask who the agent works for.

Certify the date, or notarise the lease

You don't have to register a lease for it to be valid. Two steps at a notary office of the Real Estate Registry (Shahr El Akary) protect you.

If a lease has no certain date and the home is sold, the new owner can make you leave only after notice under Article 563, and if you're asked to leave before your term ends, the landlord owes you compensation, unless your contract says otherwise, and you don't have to leave until it's paid or secured (Article 605). A lease longer than nine years must be registered, or it doesn't bind third parties for the years beyond nine (Law 114 of 1946, Article 11). Ask the office for its current fees before you go.

The deposit and advance rent: what the law says, and what it doesn't

• The amount and the return date aren't in the law. No article of the Civil Code fixes a cash deposit or a date to return it. Both are whatever you agree, so write them down.
• The law has its own security for rent. Under Article 588, a tenant must keep furniture or goods in the home worth enough to cover two years' rent, or the whole term if it's shorter, unless the rent was paid in advance, the parties agreed to waive this, or the tenant gave another security. A contract can name your cash deposit as that other security; ask for that sentence.
• The landlord can hold your belongings for unpaid rent. The landlord has a right over the movables in the home to secure what the lease owes, and can object to them being taken away (Article 589). Settle the last rent and bills before you move out.
• Big advance payments carry a risk. A receipt for more than three years' rent paid in advance must be registered, or it doesn't bind third parties beyond three years' rent (Law 114 of 1946, Article 11). And if you pay ahead knowing the home is being sold, you can't rely on that payment against the new owner (Civil Code, Article 606).
• Receipts matter. Paying one instalment is taken as proof that the earlier ones were paid, until shown otherwise (Article 587). Still, get a signed receipt every time.

Pay the deposit by bank transfer, and get a signed receipt that says it's a security deposit and names the lease it belongs to.

Make a handover report

Article 591 says you must return the home in the condition you received it, except for damage you're not responsible for. It adds a rule that matters on your first day: if the home was handed over without a written report of its condition, you're presumed to have received it in good condition until you prove otherwise.

So before you move in, write a report that both of you sign: every room, every defect, the meter readings, and for a furnished home every item and its condition, with dated photos and videos. Do the same when you leave.

Repairs, renewal and leaving early

• Repairs. The landlord keeps the home in the condition it was handed over and does the necessary repairs (Article 567); small "tenant's repairs" set by custom are yours (Article 582). Tell the landlord quickly about anything that needs their action (Article 585). If they don't act after formal notice, see Article 568: a court can let you do the work and deduct the cost, and for urgent or minor repairs you may not need the court.
• Renewal. A fixed-term lease ends on its end date with no notice (Article 598). If you stay on with the landlord's knowledge and no objection, it renews with no fixed term and ends by notice (Article 599). Since August 2025, a tenant who doesn't leave at the end can be ordered out by the summary judge (Law 4 of 1996, Article 2 bis).
• Increases. Mid-lease, the rent changes only if the contract says so (Article 147).
• Leaving early. You can end a fixed-term lease early if your job requires you to move, with notice under Article 563, and no clause can take that away (Article 609). Either side can ask to end it for grave, unforeseen circumstances, with notice and fair compensation (Article 608). Otherwise, agree an early-exit clause and its cost before you sign.
• A landlord's "personal need" clause. If the contract lets the landlord end the lease when they need the home, they must still give notice under Article 563 unless the contract says otherwise (Article 607).

Red flags

• The person won't show an ownership paper or a power of attorney, or the names don't match.
• You're asked to pay a deposit or a "booking fee" before a viewing or before a contract.
• The landlord won't sign a written contract or let you certify its date.
• The contract has an automatic-termination clause with no notice, or no clause at all on the deposit.
• You're pushed to decide today because "others are about to pay".

Your checklist

• Owner's national ID and proof of ownership, with matching names
• Power of attorney covering renting, if someone else signs
• Agent checked on Feinh Verify
• Written contract with term, rent, increase clause, deposit terms and who pays what
• Every page signed by both parties
• Date certified at a Real Estate Registry notary office, or the lease notarised
• Handover report signed by both, with photos, meter readings and an inventory if furnished
• Receipts for the deposit and every rent payment

Before you pay anyone, verify the agent on Feinh by number, name or listing ID.

General information from official sources, checked on 31 October 2026. Not legal advice; for your own case, ask a lawyer or the office named above.