Invest-Gate concludes its Occupants Union Law: Recommendations to Preserve Our Real Estate Wealth roundtable, in cooperation with the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), held on June 14, 2021

The discussion is moderated by Fathallah Fawzy, head of the construction committee of the EBA, in the presence of the First Undersecretary and Head of the Housing and Utilities Department at the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Nafisa Hashem.

Moreover, prominent real estate experts join the roundtable discussion, including Hisham Shoukry, chairman of Rooya Group, Ahmed Shalaby, president and CEO of Tatweer Misr, and Waleed Mokhtar, managing director and CEO of Iwan Developments. All participants conclude their talk with the following recommendations:

In General 

• Collecting maintenance fees according to the decisions of the general assembly of the project’s unit, as well as separating the services provided by the occupants union in case of non-payment is quite harsh (ex: the cutting off of water if it was provided through the occupants union and not through the government water companies).
• Assigning the responsibility of managing the residential community to the developer until the completion of the project’s phases, in addition, the contract terms between the developer and the client should be executed.
• The government should provide a sustainable mechanism to ensure the implementation of the Occupants Union Law.
• Obligating the real estate developer to apply the principle of transparency concerning financial resources, by providing an external auditor to review the accounts and issue his reports to the General Assembly.
• Reviewing the loading and the distribution of maintenance burdens on the units within the project, which includes villas and residential buildings.
• Conducting an integrated community dialogue with developers and owners to discuss these modifications.

 Properties’ Maintenance:

• The maintenance works of residential projects should be assigned to specialized companies to ensure cost reduction and high-quality services.
• The developer or the occupants union must have the opportunity to use the maintenance deposit in an investment manner to achieve a return for the project, with the importance of having a chartered accountant.
• There must be listed maintenance companies registered by the Ministry of Housing, and the developer or the occupants union are obligated to deal with these companies only.

Methods of Collecting Financial Obligations & Defaulters’ Punishment:

• The default fine stipulated in the Building Law must be reconsidered, which is: Every occupant who fails to pay the maintenance fees or other financial obligations will pay a monthly fine of not less than EGP 10 and not more than EGP 100, multiplied by the number of default months.
• It is possible to implement penalties on those who do not pay their financial obligations, by imposing restrictions concerning technological services in residential communities that include smart units, and not only cutting utilities.
• There must be a specialized court for the cases of the occupants union, to oblige the people who do not pay their financial obligations and to ensure the speed of judgments.