Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi would launch and announce a major housing programme covering rental housing, social housing and projects for middle-income families, with units to be delivered over the next four years.
Madbouly made the remarks on Wednesday during a session entitled “Market Regulation and a More Effective Social Protection System” on the third day of Egypt Forum 2026, held in line with President Sisi’s directives.
In response to a question, Madbouly said the state had built, was building and continued to complete around two million housing units over recent years. Most of these fall under social housing schemes, alongside projects targeting middle-income households, including Sakan Misr, Dar Misr and Jannah.
He explained that the programmes aim to enable citizens to own homes through affordable payment plans extending over approximately 20 years, at prices unmatched by those available on the Egyptian property market. He acknowledged that some segments of society cannot afford homes developed by the private sector, highlighting the need to diversify housing options to suit different income levels.
Madbouly said the new approach, under President Sisi’s directives, would revive rental housing alongside homeownership schemes, offering citizens a wider range of options to meet their needs.
He noted that renting was widespread in Egypt until the 1960s and 1970s, before declining due to laws and policies that, over the medium and long term, failed to maintain a balance in the housing market and provide suitable accommodation for different social groups.
The prime minister added that President Sisi had previously identified the decline of rental housing as one of the factors contributing to the spread of informal settlements. He stressed the importance of diversifying housing policies and providing suitable alternatives to meet demand and prevent the emergence of informal areas in the future.
Madbouly said rental housing accounts for up to 50 per cent of the housing market in many countries, including developed economies, where around 50 to 60 per cent of housing units are rented rather than owned. This, he said, had prompted the government to consider restoring rental housing as a significant component of Egypt’s property market.
He also referred to the president’s announcement the previous day that thousands of rental housing units would be offered in the coming period, alongside directives to continue the presidential Housing for All Egyptians initiative and social housing projects.
