Tips and Resources

The easiest way to find a flat in Cairo is to simply take one over from a student who is leaving Cairo. You can post advertisements expressing your interest in renting your apartment by sending an email to Nelly Corbel, ISA Senior Coordinator .  Use caution in choosing an apartment or a roommate not affiliated with AUC. Once you find an apartment, there are many factors that should be taken into consideration:

Negotiating and Signing the Lease

1. If possible, please have an Arabic speaker with you when negotiating the lease.

2. Signed leases are legally binding and if broken could involve you in legal difficulties.  Please do not sign a lease until you are sure you understand everything that is written in it. Most lease contracts are usually reprinted forms and for the most part are very standardized.

3. Do not allow the landlord to pressure you into signing a lease before you have had time to review it in full.

4. If the landlord shows you a copy of the lease and then takes it away to only later present you with an ‘identical’ copy to sign, be sure it is an identical copy.

5. Do not allow the landlord to make you sign two different contracts specifying different amounts of rent; they may claim it is necessary for their purposes but it may ultimately involve you a lot of unnecessary argument.

6. Try to agree with your landlord, in writing, that your deposit will be considered you last month’s rent (depending on the amount involved), barring some kind of serious damage to the apartment that is your fault. This will save you a lot of trouble when it is time for you to vacate the flat, particularly since many landlords are reluctant to return deposits.

7. Find out who is responsible for your police registration-the official notification of your residence in that apartment. Usually the landlord will do this. It requires going to the local police station with a copy of your passport and registering your residence, something you must do each time you move in Cairo.

Discussing the Condition of the Apartment

1. Clarify who is responsible for plumbing, electricity, hot water, etc. Try to have landlord assume as much of this as possible. Do not pay a deposit or rent until all of these are fixed. Make sure EVERYTHING works before you sign the lease and pay rent/deposit.

2. Find out of the apartment has water all the time (ask neighbors). Find out if the building has a khazzan (storage tank) in case the water is cut off.

3. Find out if the landlord is going to keep an extra key to the apartment and if so what use they will make of it. Ensure they will not make unexpected visits or enter without knocking. You can ask permission to change the lock yourself and keep all keys.

4. Try to obtain and sign, separate from the lease, a list of all the apartment’s major furnishings. Note everything that is broken or snap pictures with your mobile phone during a walk through.

5. If the apartment is furnished ask the landlord to specify exactly what belongs in the apartment for your use.

6. Make sure the elevator operates reliably unless you enjoy taking the stairs (ask the neighbors).