Renting in Egypt: how it actually works

Start with the area, not the apartment

The most common mistake people make is falling in love with a specific apartment before they understand where it sits. A beautiful flat in the wrong district means a two-hour daily commute, a school run you cannot sustain, and a year of regret.

Work out first where your life will happen — work, school, hospital, the people you know — and then look at properties inside that circle.

Furnished or unfurnished

Furnished usually means you can move in with a suitcase. It costs more per month, and the definition of furnished varies enormously between landlords. Some include everything down to cutlery; others provide a bed and a sofa.

Unfurnished in Egypt can be more literal than you expect. It may mean no kitchen cabinets, no appliances, and sometimes no light fittings. If you are renting unfurnished, ask explicitly what stays.

• Ask for photographs of every room as it will be handed over
• Get the inventory in writing, with the contract, not as a verbal promise
• Agree who repairs what before you sign

The contract

Have a written contract. Always. A verbal agreement with a friendly landlord is not protection, and it is the single most common source of disputes we hear about.

Read the contract in a language you genuinely understand. If it is in Arabic and you do not read Arabic, get it translated by someone who is not the person renting it to you.

• Rent amount, currency, and exactly when it is due
• Length of the tenancy and how it renews
• Notice period on both sides
• Deposit amount and the precise conditions for getting it back
• Who pays utilities, internet, maintenance and any compound fees
• What happens if something breaks

Deposits

Expect to pay a deposit. What matters is not the amount so much as the clarity: what condition the property must be in for you to get it back, who decides that, and how long it takes.

Photograph and video the entire property on the day you move in, including existing damage, and share it with the landlord in writing the same day. This one habit prevents most deposit disputes.

Paying rent

Agree the currency and the payment method in writing. If you are paid abroad and the rent is in Egyptian pounds, understand who carries the exchange-rate risk.

Keep a record of every payment. Bank transfers create a paper trail; cash does not, unless you insist on signed receipts every single time.