Concerns have been raised over ‘rider suburbs’ being created in urban communities with scores of delivery bikes being parked near homes turned into multi-tenancy dwellings for single men in areas that used to be full of families.
But Bahrain has no intention of pushing expatriate workers out of residential neighbourhoods, with a top municipal official warning that blanket crackdowns on shared accommodation would be ‘inhumane, unethical and impractical’.
The remarks were made by Northern Municipality director-general Mohammed Al Sehli during a heated Northern Municipal Council meeting yesterday, where councillors questioned the spread of shared labour housing mainly in constituency six covering A’ali and Ramli.
The issue was raised by area councillor Abdulla Ashoor, who submitted a detailed inquiry seeking figures on licensed and unlicensed communal housing, inspection campaigns, violations and whether authorities had cut electricity and water supplies to offending properties.
Mr Al Sehli stressed that municipalities were responsible for ensuring buildings met health and structural standards, not for deciding who should or should not live in an area.
“If a councillor wants workers out of his constituency, they will simply move to the nearest constituency and then another councillor will object,” he said.
“The market is governed by supply and demand. These workers exist because there is demand for their services. Without them, there will be a reduction in services.”
He added that many of the expatriates in question were delivery riders and labourers relied upon daily by residents and businesses.
“It is inhumane, unethical and impractical to segregate them when they are needed within the same area,” said Mr Al Sehli.
He also rejected suggestions that the municipality was responsible for evictions or disconnecting utilities.
“We are not responsible for morals or removing occupants,” he said. “The municipality’s role is related to technical and construction requirements and ensuring the safety of housing.”
According to Mr Al Sehli, tenancy contracts fall under the jurisdiction of the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry, while resident registration and census matters are handled by the Information and eGovernment Authority.
He confirmed that a number of cases involving improper housing conditions had already been referred to the Public Prosecution.
“We have not cut electricity to a property recently as there have not been violations,” he added. “If the legal space requirements are met, then there is no issue with the number of occupants.”
During the debate, Mr Ashoor clarified that his concern was not with expatriates themselves but with overcrowded housing and what he described as ‘unregulated’ communal accommodation in residential neighbourhoods.
“The issue is with large numbers of workers living in one home, not the existence of expatriates,” he said.
In his submitted questions, Mr Ashoor asked the municipality to disclose how many buildings in the constituency were officially licensed as shared accommodation, how many violations had been issued, and how many inspection campaigns had been carried out under regulations governing collective housing.
He also cited concerns raised by residents over overcrowding, public order and the impact on the character of family neighbourhoods.
Examples of properties allegedly being used for communal housing in Blocks 734, 736 and 742 were attached to his submission, including homes said to house dozens of delivery riders linked to private companies. However, Mr Al Sehli maintained that legal action could only be taken in cases involving clear violations or criminal activity – then by the Interior Ministry.
“If they are not committing crimes or using the place for criminal activity, then on what basis do we remove them?” he asked.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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