Rent or sell your property in Egypt? What the 2025 rent law and 2026 market mean for owners

Two kinds of lease, two different decisions

Which kind of lease your property has changes the question.

• Old-rent leases, mostly signed decades ago at rents that barely moved. Since August 2025 they're governed by Law 164 of 2025, which raises these rents sharply and ends the leases after a transition period.
• Leases signed under the newer rules, often called "new rent", where landlord and tenant agree the rent and the term in the contract.

If your flat is let on an old-rent contract, start with the next section. If it's empty or on a newer lease, skip to the numbers. This guide gives you a framework to decide; it isn't advice on what to do with your property.

Old rent under Law 164 of 2025

Each governorate classifies its own zones. Until a zone is classified, the tenant pays an interim EGP 250 a month, with any difference paid later in monthly instalments, and some governorates began collecting the new rents from December 2025.

Cairo published its classification in the official gazette on 27 January 2026. About 18% of surveyed areas were rated prime, 31% medium and 37% economic. Zamalek's Nile Corniche, 26 July Street and Brazil Street, and Downtown's Talaat Harb and Qasr El Nil, are prime; some other Zamalek streets and named streets in Heliopolis are medium. Two cautions: one report of Cairo's decision gives a medium-zone minimum of EGP 450, while the law sets EGP 400; and we found no confirmed tier for Maadi, Nasr City or Mokattam.

What old-rent owners can expect

You now have a much higher rent, a yearly 15% rise and an end date. Invest-Gate's coverage of JLL's Q1 2026 report notes that the 2025 rent law gives landlords a clear legal route to take back their units and let them at market rates in the long term.

That changes your options. You can keep collecting the higher rent until the transition ends, or you can sell. A flat with a sitting tenant until 2032 is a different product from an empty one, and buyers will price it that way.

Rents vs prices: what JLL measured

JLL tracks New Cairo and 6th of October, the only areas with consistent consultancy data. In Q1 2026, rents rose much faster than resale prices year on year, and by Q2 rent growth had slowed to about 7%:

The Q2 2026 price rises are quarter on quarter, so don't compare them directly with the yearly figures. Even so, a quarterly rise of 2.4% to 2.8% would be roughly 10% to 12% a year if it continued, still below urban inflation of 13.9% in September 2026.

Yields: estimates disagree

Your yield is the yearly rent as a share of the property's value. Published figures conflict:

• A developer executive put residential yields at 3% to 5% in August 2026.
• Global Property Guide, which divides asking rents by asking prices on a listing site, shows gross yields of roughly 8.5% to 11.7% in New Cairo, 4.2% to 7.1% in 6th of October and 4% to 5.3% in Heliopolis, with net yields 1.5 to 2 points lower.

Work out your own. Take a realistic yearly rent, subtract maintenance, empty months and tax, and divide by what you'd get from a sale after the 2.5% disposal tax and commission. A free valuation gives you the sale side of that sum.

Then compare it with what you'd do with the cash. For reference only, the Central Bank of Egypt's overnight deposit rate has been 19% since February 2026, and its next meeting is on 29 October 2026.

Tax on rental income

• Annual real estate tax. Under the 2026 amendment (Law 3 of 2026), the home you and your family use as your main residence is exempt up to a net annual rental value of EGP 100,000; only the value above that is taxed. Rented flats and second homes stay taxable, at 10% of the net annual rental value after a 30% deduction for residential units. Filing on time earns a 25% discount for homes.
• Income tax on rent. Under the Income Tax Law, 50% of your rental income is deducted for costs, and the rest is taxed at personal income tax rates. You must notify the tax office and file a return unless your net rental income is within the tax-free bracket, and the real estate tax you've paid can be deducted. The brackets reported in 2023 are out of date, so check the current ones with an accountant.
• VAT. Residential leases are exempt. Under Law 149 of 2026, leases of non-residential units used as independent premises carry 14% VAT.
• If you sell instead, you pay 2.5% of the full price within 60 days. See taxes and fees when you sell.

Short-term rentals need a licence

According to the law firm AMERELLER, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Decree 209 of 2025 requires a "Holiday Home" licence for any residential unit let for short tourist stays. Each unit needs a valid licence, renewed every year, and you need civil defence and health and safety approvals and tax registration. Decree 801 of 2025 adds a model for buildings, or dedicated sections, of 8 or more units used only as holiday homes.

Rent or sell: a framework

Our guides on how to price your property and selling step by step cover the sale side. When you're ready, list your property on Feinh, and we check it with you before it goes live. See how we check.