RERA: No off-plan housing projects declared stalled

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Eighteen off-plan property developments are still in progress and none has yet been declared stalled, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has confirmed.

The projects, all licensed and under construction, are being monitored by the authority, said Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister, His Excellency Wael Al Mubarak, in a reply to MP Hisham Al Ashiri.

He said the authority carries out regular checks on developers and their projects, applying legal steps to deal with cases where progress has ground to a halt.

These measures fall under a decision that sets out the reasons and circumstances that can lead to a real estate project being deemed stalled.

Delays

The minister noted that delays can arise in several ways.

These include failure to begin work within three months of receiving permits, a developer declaring bankruptcy, abandonment of a project, or the issue of a court ruling against a developer.

He added that the authority has issued a number of regulatory decisions to improve transparency and governance in the sector.

The aim is to keep investor confidence steady and the property market ticking along, in line with Bahrain’s longterm economic plans.

Rules Among the rules developers must follow are the requirement to keep a dedicated escrow account for each project under the supervision of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the submission of monthly progress reports, and the maintenance of a log of all off-plan sales contracts.