[Bahrain] Call for stricter rent rules for expat bachelors

Bahrain’s landlords could soon be prevented from renting their properties to expatriate bachelors without seeking prior permission from the municipal authorities, GDN Online reports.

Councillors claim it will solve issues of labourers being crammed into the rooms of dilapidated buildings and solve problems that have allegedly arisen with men wearing traditional ‘lungi’ inadvertently exposing themselves in public

The proposed new regulations presented to Bahrain’s three municipal councils and the Capital Trustees Board by Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak would reportedly ensure buildings were safe for occupation and that their locations took into account the nature of the neighbourhood.

As a result, landlords would have to register their lease contracts with their area municipality, which will conduct necessary inspections, alongside other checks by relevant authorities.

Of the 10-member strong Southern Municipal Council, six voted in favour of the move, including chairman Abdulla Abdullatif, who stressed that the measure needed to be implemented with urgency, with four voting against.

Councillor Khalid Shajra representing constituency five (south East Riffa, Hunainiyah Valley, south West Riffa) said he was concerned about multi-occupation dwellings, highlighting one building he claimed was home to 30 labourers working eight-hour rotational shifts and sharing beds.

“The rent is ‘by bed’ in disregard to whether the property can handle that number of expatriate bachelors,” he added.

“Expatriate bachelors should be confined to certain areas where they can get everything they need and where humane regulations are enforced to ensure they are comfortable. This will ensure others are protected from these kinds of atrocious acts.”

Councillor Ahmed Al Abdulla, who represents constituency six (West Riffa and Bukawarah) said having a large number of expatriate labourers in one place led to crime, as well as illegal and immoral acts.

“Leaving the issue without proper regulation has meant that many residential neighbourhoods have become chaotic,” he said. “It is a culmination of multiple factors that have led up to a situation that is now getting out of hand.”

Southern Municipality director general Assem Abdullatif said registering lease contracts would prevent potential disasters from occurring and ensure humane living conditions became the norm.

“At the moment, the number of bachelors per accommodation is limitless,” he said: “Older homes, that families don’t reside in any more, are being rented out.

“In some multiple accommodations, there are tangled, entwined and exposed electricity connections that are hazardous.”

Municipality inspections and monitoring head Ammar Abdulkarim said the compulsory registration of lease contracts would allow the authorities to determine whether buildings and locations were fit to house tenants.

“We will take into account the structural aspect, the numbers that could be allowed to live in the properties and also the closeness to other homes and residential buildings,” he said.

“Those in violation, whether unofficially registered or those who violate given municipal permissions, will be met with legal action.”

There have been multiple tragic deaths in the past ten years under the conditions the councillors described. Four people were reportedly killed and more than 30 others injured when a three-storey structure in Salmaniya collapsed following a gas cylinder explosion in 2018.

Thirteen Bangladeshis died in a fire that broke out in a rundown three-storey building in 2013. A total of 135 people lived in the building, which has since been demolished.

Three Bangladeshis were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in Mukharqa, Manama in 2014. The men died of smoke inhalation in their sleep as the blaze quickly spread through the two-storey building, forcing close to 80 tenants to flee for their lives. Two men were injured and required hospital treatment as a result of the blaze.

Source: GDN Online

(Quotes via original reporting)

Bahrain’s landlords could soon be prevented from renting their properties to expatriate bachelors without seeking prior permission from the municipal authorities, GDN Online reports.

Councillors claim it will solve issues of labourers being crammed into the rooms of dilapidated buildings and solve problems that have allegedly arisen with men wearing traditional ‘lungi’ inadvertently exposing themselves in public

The proposed new regulations presented to Bahrain’s three municipal councils and the Capital Trustees Board by Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak would reportedly ensure buildings were safe for occupation and that their locations took into account the nature of the neighbourhood.

As a result, landlords would have to register their lease contracts with their area municipality, which will conduct necessary inspections, alongside other checks by relevant authorities.

Of the 10-member strong Southern Municipal Council, six voted in favour of the move, including chairman Abdulla Abdullatif, who stressed that the measure needed to be implemented with urgency, with four voting against.

Councillor Khalid Shajra representing constituency five (south East Riffa, Hunainiyah Valley, south West Riffa) said he was concerned about multi-occupation dwellings, highlighting one building he claimed was home to 30 labourers working eight-hour rotational shifts and sharing beds.

“The rent is ‘by bed’ in disregard to whether the property can handle that number of expatriate bachelors,” he added.

“Expatriate bachelors should be confined to certain areas where they can get everything they need and where humane regulations are enforced to ensure they are comfortable. This will ensure others are protected from these kinds of atrocious acts.”

Councillor Ahmed Al Abdulla, who represents constituency six (West Riffa and Bukawarah) said having a large number of expatriate labourers in one place led to crime, as well as illegal and immoral acts.

“Leaving the issue without proper regulation has meant that many residential neighbourhoods have become chaotic,” he said. “It is a culmination of multiple factors that have led up to a situation that is now getting out of hand.”

Southern Municipality director general Assem Abdullatif said registering lease contracts would prevent potential disasters from occurring and ensure humane living conditions became the norm.

“At the moment, the number of bachelors per accommodation is limitless,” he said: “Older homes, that families don’t reside in any more, are being rented out.

“In some multiple accommodations, there are tangled, entwined and exposed electricity connections that are hazardous.”

Municipality inspections and monitoring head Ammar Abdulkarim said the compulsory registration of lease contracts would allow the authorities to determine whether buildings and locations were fit to house tenants.

“We will take into account the structural aspect, the numbers that could be allowed to live in the properties and also the closeness to other homes and residential buildings,” he said.

“Those in violation, whether unofficially registered or those who violate given municipal permissions, will be met with legal action.”

There have been multiple tragic deaths in the past ten years under the conditions the councillors described. Four people were reportedly killed and more than 30 others injured when a three-storey structure in Salmaniya collapsed following a gas cylinder explosion in 2018.

Thirteen Bangladeshis died in a fire that broke out in a rundown three-storey building in 2013. A total of 135 people lived in the building, which has since been demolished.

Three Bangladeshis were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in Mukharqa, Manama in 2014. The men died of smoke inhalation in their sleep as the blaze quickly spread through the two-storey building, forcing close to 80 tenants to flee for their lives. Two men were injured and required hospital treatment as a result of the blaze.

Source: GDN Online

(Quotes via original reporting)