Amendment to Executive Regulations of Law on Settlement of Building Violations: Application Period Extended (Copy)

The Prime Minister has issued a decree [1] amending the Executive Regulations of the new Law on Settlement of Building Violations promulgated at the end of the last year.[2] The decree comes just about six months after the issuance of the Executive Regulations. The amendment aims to further facilitate the process in order to encourage more citizens to apply for settlement, and address some administrative issues which many citizens raised as being a cause of delays. Additionally, the Prime Minister issued another decree [3] extending the period set for the submission of settlement applications, which ended this November, for another six months. The goal is to ease the procedures for citizens and avoid the problems arose during the initial period.

The New Amendments

Most of the amendment provisions focus on the documents that need to be submitted with the application file,[4] in order to overcome certain procedural obstacles, as follows:

1.     The engineering report on the constructional safety of the building must be issued by an architectural firm or a consulting engineer registered with the Engineers Syndicate and specialized in the design of concrete or metal structures, as the case may be. Alternatively, the report may be issued by a research center or a faculty of engineering. In all cases, the report must be signed by a specialized consulting engineer working at the issuing entity. A report by an engineer registered with the Engineers Syndicate would suffice if the building is not larger than 200 square meters and not higher than three floors. In cases of change of use, the report should include an undertaking that the constructional elements of the building will remain intact.

2.     The application must be accompanied by an original registration certificate for the engineer issuing the report. The certificate is issued by the Engineers Syndicate. The option to submit only a copy of the certificate is no longer valid.

3.     The two parties to the contract may appear in person before the administrative authority to regularize their position after the violation of easement rights. This option is introduced as an alternative to the condition of submitting a notarized agreement between the applicant and the owners of the easement rights to confirm their approval for the regularization request.

4.     The technical secretariate has been abolished.[5] Before the amendment, the Executive Regulations required the formation of that secretariate to aid the technical committee. Abolishing the secretariate aims to save time and costs. The technical committee will examine the entire application file itself within 15 days to ensure the submission of all required documents.

5.     The certificate evidencing the receipt of the settlement application is valid for three months. It must be renewed every three months until the application is decided.

6.     Certain certificates have been incorporated into the application forms to ease the process for applicants.

Conclusion and Commentary

The impact of the new amendments must be assessed quickly to ensure that settlement applications are decided in a timely manner. Continuous efforts should be made to overcome the obstacles that still impede the full success of the settlement system, most notably the shortage of employees, administrators and technicians.

[1] Prime Ministerial Decree No. 3504 of 2024 Amending Certain Provisions of the Executive Regulations issued under Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1121 of 2024 —Official Gazette, Issue 42 (Subsequent Edition) (A), 20 October 2024.

[2] Law 187 of 2023 on Settlement of Certain Building Violations.

[3] Prime Ministerial Decree No. 3582 of 2024 —Official Gazette, Issue 42 (Subsequent Edition) (C), 23 October 2024.

[4] For more details, see Egypt Legal Update, issue of the third week of April 2024.

[5] Official statements by the Minister of Local Development, Ms. Manal Awad, on 21 October 2024.