BAHRAINI families will continue paying higher monthly municipal fees until they settle in their new social homes, according to a top minister.
Housing Minister Bassem Al Hamer told the Muharraq Municipal Council that their proposal to charge subsidised rates from the moment homeowners received keys could open doors for possible construction and expansion violations.
He added that under a contract signed with the ministry families have six months to actually move into their allotted homes before they could become eligible for subsidised municipal fees.
Currently, Bahrainis can apply to the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to get the fees changed from 10 per cent of the net monthly rent/instalment or separate electricity and water bill within their parents’ home to BD2.
This means that if the monthly rent/instalment is BD200, Bahrainis pay BD20 as municipal fees.
Mr Al Hamer said that whenever subsidised municipal rates are given on the first day, it encourages construction and expansion violations which become very difficult to follow up.
“If the subsidised municipal rates are given from day one, it would mean that there are no construction or expansion violations despite several families opting to make changes to the given homes before moving in,” he added.
“Eventually subsidised rates will be given if track usage reports by the Electricity and Water Authority show that people are actually living in the home.”
Bahrainis qualify for a basic electricity rate of just 3 fils per unit (for the first 3,000 units of electricity consumed), but that only applies to one property.
For any additional property, they pay the same rate as expatriates, which is 29 fils per unit.
Bahrainis with one property also pay a basic water rate of 25 fils per unit, but those with a second home and expats pay 750 fils per unit. However, council chairman Ghazi Al Murbati said most families couldn’t afford to make expansions to social homes.
He added that in some cases expansions need to be made considering that the homes given by the ministry take into account a family of five members and not 15.
“Unsubsidised municipal rates are a financial burden on such families knowing they have to also pay for expansions, new connections, furniture and electrical appliances.”
Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf told councillors last year that up to 85 per cent of homeowners violated contractual obligations.
An average of 400 homeowners a month were being referred to the courts by both the ministries.
The majority of the violations involved making structural changes to expand some rooms and using garages for other purposes.
The government has been offering social homes for the last 50 years, with Isa Town being the first project followed by Hamad Town in the 1980s.
Since then, however, thousands of homes have been built in Salman Town, Khalifa Town, Ramli Town, East Hidd Town and the upcoming East Sitra Town, in addition to other housing developments in partnership with the private sector.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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