Making matters worse is rent control. Families are reluctant to give up their spacious downtown apartments because rent control has kept the monthly rent of their gorgeous 4-bedroom apartment fixed at LE50 for generations. The unchangeable low rent also explains why landlords are increasingly reluctant to do repairs on their buildings. Every year a few buildings collapse when landlords, seeking to bypass rent control or simply driven by greed, add illegal extra storeys to their buildings. There are also seasons at play.
Winter is usually the easiest time to find a flat and summer the hardest.
Starting in June the Saudis come to town. For them, Cairo's balmy 110F days are a cool respite from the blast furnace of the the Arabian Peninsula. While most Saudis stick to Zamalek and Mohandiseen, apartment managers throughout the city routinely hike the rent of vacant flats in May in anticipation of their arrival. Act fast, as the arrival of thousands of university students in late Sept. brings everything back into equilibrium. A simsar is a commissioned apartment broker.