How to verify commercial land ownership in Egypt before you pay

In Egypt, someone telling you "this land is mine" does not mean the title is registered in their name. A large share of property changes hands on preliminary contracts and powers of attorney, without ever being registered at the Shahr Aqary. That is not necessarily fraud — but it does mean the paper you are holding is weaker than you think.

Three things people confuse

• A preliminary contract (عقد ابتدائي) binds the two parties to each other, but it is not enforceable against third parties. If the seller also sold the same plot to someone else on a preliminary contract, you are both in the same boat.
• A power of attorney (توكيل) grants the right to deal with the property, not ownership of it. It also lapses on the death of the grantor — a real risk in deals that run for months.
• Registration at the Shahr Aqary is the only step that transfers ownership formally and binds everyone. If the plot is registered, everything below gets much simpler.

Ask for these documents, in this order

1. 1Proof of title: a registered contract or a final court judgment. If all they hold is a preliminary contract, establish when they bought it and from whom.
2. 2The chain of contracts back to source: who the seller bought from, who that person bought from, until you reach a clear origin — a government allocation or an old registration.
3. 3A recent official search at the Shahr Aqary on the plot, showing any mortgage, attachment or registered litigation.
4. 4An inheritance declaration if title passed by inheritance, plus written consent from every single heir. One missing heir stops the whole transaction.
5. 5The survey plan and boundaries from the Survey Authority, checked against the site. Paper area and actual area differing is common.
6. 6A statement of no outstanding liabilities on the plot: utilities, property tax, owners' association dues where one exists.

If the plot is a NUCA allocation

Land in the new cities — Fifth Settlement, October, Shorouk, the New Capital — is mostly allocated by the New Urban Communities Authority on instalments. The file is different here: you are not only buying from an owner, you are stepping into an existing relationship with the Authority.

• Ask for the original allocation letter and instalment receipts up to the latest payment.
• Establish the remaining instalments and their schedule, and who carries them after transfer.
• Most important: the Authority's approval of the transfer. Without it, the transfer between you is not recognised by NUCA, whatever contracts you sign.
• Confirm the build-out deadline attached to the allocation is still live. Some allocations carry an obligation to build within a period, and delay can expose the allocation to withdrawal.

Signals to stop on

• Unexplained urgency, or pressure that "there is another buyer right now".
• Refusal to produce a recent official search, justified as "registration takes time".
• A seller acting under an old power of attorney where the original owner is not reachable to confirm.
• A price far under the district average with no clear reason.
• Boundaries on the ground not matching the plan, or someone else in possession of part of the plot.

At Togary this check is part of our work before a listing is even published: we review the contract chain and the registration status, and what we cannot verify does not go live.