Ahmed El Batrawy, founder of the Official Egyptian Real Estate Platform, sounded the alarm over the escalating crises in Egypt’s real estate sector. He pointed out that the absence of fairness in contract drafting, weak market oversight, and leaving the sector in a state of chaos are destroying buyers’ rights and placing serious developers under immense pressure. He called for urgent legislative and regulatory intervention to restore order and rebalance this vital sector.
Speaking during a phone interview on the television program Kalima Akheera, El Batrawy described the prevailing contracts between developers and buyers as adhesion contracts that overwhelmingly favor one party—the developer—since all clauses are drafted unilaterally without balancing rights and obligations.
He proposed the creation of a unified contract issued by an official authority such as the Ministry of Housing or the Developers’ Union, similar to standardized residential lease contracts, to ensure protection for both parties and clearly define buyers’ rights, especially as many buyers sign lengthy contracts without fully understanding their content.
El Batrawy also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the lack of equality in contractual obligations. Buyers face penalties and financial interest if they delay installment payments by even a single day, while no comparable sanctions are imposed on developers when they delay unit delivery—sometimes for a year or more.
He suggested that contracts should include clear clauses mandating immediate compensation for buyers, whether in the form of rental value for undelivered units or interest rates equivalent to those imposed on buyers for late payments. Regarding the chaos in real estate marketing, El Batrawy highlighted the growing phenomenon of unlicensed brokers who promote misleading promises to buyers.
In this context, he called for the implementation of a strict licensing system to regulate the real estate brokerage profession and obligate brokers to clear legal responsibilities for the information they provide to buyers. He emphasized the importance of protecting citizens from this disorder, which undermines the credibility of the market.
El Batrawy also stressed the need to implement a developer classification system based on technical and financial capabilities and past performance, categorizing companies into tiers such as A, B, and C.
To avoid further off-plan sales crises, he proposed preventing new developers from selling projects until a certain percentage of construction is completed, while granting more experienced and reputable developers greater flexibility. This, he noted, would enhance stability and confidence among both local and foreign investors.
He further affirmed that the market is in urgent need of an independent regulatory authority to organize the sector and enforce laws firmly and equally on all parties without exception. He added that such an authority should also contribute to resolving disputes between developers and buyers more efficiently than traditional courts, in order to reduce issues that threaten market stability.
El Batrawy concluded by emphasizing that regulating the sector would not only benefit buyers but would also positively protect serious developers. Strict regulation would help eliminate negative practices and unqualified entrants to the market.
He considered the adoption of a unified contract and stringent regulatory legislation to be the true starting point toward a fair and sustainable real estate market that strengthens investor confidence across all segments in the Egyptian market.
