Inferences from Building Reconciliation Law to Control Building Violations

Abstract

Informal urban sprawl and building violations, including height increase and changing building use, have led to agricultural land loss and pressure on infrastructure in the Nile Delta region. Accordingly, the reconciliation law implemented by the Egyptian government is considered a step toward preventing building violations and legalizing the status of previous breaches. Hence, this research aims to assess the impact of the different procedures of the reconciliation law on the number of reconciliations and investigate the citizens’ perceptions about reconciliation law. The impact of different procedures of the reconciliation law on the number of reconciliations has been analyzed. Also, more than 600 violation cases have been examined and interview conducted to investigate the citizens’ perceptions of reconciliation law using the convenience sampling technique. The results show that the most effective actions were the threat of removal and reducing reconciliation fees. Also, the main reason that impeded the citizens’ from reconciling was the slowness and lack of procedural clarity. Improving awareness, transformation to digital procedures, and deterrence of violations are crucial recommendations. This study may be of benefit to similar urban contexts in developing or underdeveloped countries.