Landlords in Egypt to notify police of tenant identities per new amendment to terrorism law

CAIRO – 3 October 2021: Landlords will be obligated to notify the police with the identities of their tenants according to a draft amendment to the terrorism law.

The draft will be discussed at the House of Representative, whose second session began Saturday. It was set to counter the elusiveness of some terrorists, who rent housing units to hide from security services, and move out from one place to another regularly to avoid being tracked.

Dozens of terrorists, especially from 2013 to 2017, were caught in rented apartments in new urban communities that have an abundance of available housing units, such as in 6 October City and the Fifth Settlement. Some of these apartments were used as storages of weapons.  

Other terrorists who rented apartments in rural areas were only reported to the police for being “suspicious outsiders.”

The draft stipulates penalties of fees and jail time for failing to notify the police of new tenants.