The Minister of Housing, Urban Planning, and the City, Mohamed Tarek Belaribi, presented a detailed report on the housing situation in Algeria, highlighting the stabilization of rents nationwide as well as ongoing efforts to facilitate families’ access to public housing and land regularization.
The minister stated that rents have stopped rising thanks to the expansion of the housing stock, which reached 11 million units in 2024. However, for many households, especially in major cities like Algiers, Oran, or Constantine, this stabilization remains barely noticeable due to the strong economic and administrative attraction of these urban centers.
In response to a parliamentary question, the minister explained that the increasing availability of housing in recent years has reduced pressure on the real estate market. Yet, he acknowledged that the country’s social geography continues to influence rents, with marked disparities between dynamic provinces and peripheral regions.
Between 2020 and 2024, Mr. Belaribi reported that over 1.7 million housing units were distributed through various schemes, including nearly 494,000 public rental housing units and more than 522,000 AADL housing units.
For many low- to middle-income households, these programs have provided a breath of fresh air, especially in areas where demand remains strong. These homes have helped limit rent increases that might otherwise have occurred without such public production.
According to the minister, the 2025-2029 national program plans to build 2 million new units, mainly intended for low- and middle-income households. These initiatives aim to maintain rent stability and ensure a sustainable balance in the real estate market.
Studies conducted by the ministry show that public housing programs, particularly those implemented by the AADL agency for middle-income earners and by the Real Estate Promotion and Management Offices (OPGI) for vulnerable families, have had a significant impact on rent regulation.
The minister also mentioned the contribution of the National Property Promotion Company (ENPI), which offers promotional housing at competitive prices with a maximum profit margin of 5%, thereby reinforcing the stability of the rental market.
Regarding the regularization of non-compliant constructions, the minister recalled that Law 08-15 of July 20, 2008, extended several times, allows citizens to submit requests and resolve pending cases while combating unfinished constructions.
Several measures have been implemented, notably Executive Decree 22-55 of February 2, 2022, setting conditions for the regularization of buildings not conforming to building permits, to accelerate the review of requests and the issuance of ownership deeds and certificates of conformity.
At the national level, the record of files submitted under Law 08-15 reflects the extent of work performed by the competent services. A total of 1,165,098 files were registered, reflecting the significant demand for regularization throughout the country.
Among these files, 1,005,577 have been reviewed, representing 86.3% of the total, demonstrating the effectiveness of procedures in place to process citizens’ requests. Of these, 538,237 files were approved, accounting for 46.2% of the reviewed requests, allowing beneficiaries to advance toward full regularization of their real estate properties.
In total, 313,997 urban planning certificates were issued, representing 26.95% of the files submitted, while 159,521 files (13.7%) remain under processing, showing that land regularization is still ongoing. The procedure involves specialized sectors and coordination with the Ministries of Finance, Interior, Local Authorities, and Agriculture. Ministerial instructions have been published to simplify procedures and facilitate citizens’ access to property rights, overcoming most administrative obstacles.