Demands for bigger homes in Bahrain struck down

Demands for bigger homes in Bahrain struck down

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Demands for bigger homes for Bahraini families have been struck down by the Shura Council, which said the proposal would negatively impact the country’s housing schemes.

The council yesterday rejected amendments to the 1976 Housing Law, asserting that it would drain state coffers and delay the allotment of homes to beneficiaries.

Currently, government homes average between 160sqm and 200sqm in area and MPs had asked for more spacious units, measuring up to 250sqm, to be allotted to citizens.“If the move is sanctioned, we will immediately need to pump BD90 million into our alloted budget just for this year and the same amount annually, if not more,” Housing Minister Bassem Al Hamer said during Shura’s weekly session.

“It’s not financially feasible at the moment.“We have a commitment to build 25,000 homes by the end of this year, but if we increase the size of each unit, the total number of houses would have to be cut down by 7,000 or more.“There are currently five housing towns across the country. Each have units of varying sizes that could be easily expanded by 37pc to 50pc to accommodate six to seven rooms instead of the present four.“Again, it is not just about homes, there are other