Seniority rule

MP Hassan urges Parliament to base state housing solely on application date across all governorates

TDT | Manama

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Use seniority alone to allocate state housing, MP Hassan Ibrahim told Parliament, arguing that priority should rest only on the date an application was lodged and apply across all governorates without area weighting.

He also called for walk-in service offices for housing applicants in every governorate, saying such counters should extend beyond the Housing Ministry to other public bodies to ease access and improve service.

In a written reply, the government said it had studied the call to rely on seniority only.

It said current policy already treats seniority as the main yardstick, citing Decision No. 909 of 2015 on the Housing System and noting that Article 79 sets seniority as the base rule for ownership allocation in any location.

It added that seniority alone does not secure a balanced spread of units or take into account varied household needs.

System

These include where the applicant lives at the time of allocation, earlier places of residence and years spent there, where the wider family lives, such as the parents and grandparents of the applicant and of the spouse, the applicant’s stated preference, and any special cases the minister may judge. The government said this mix keeps seniority at the core while using the stock well and taking personal and social factors into account.

On the Capital Governorate, the government noted the squeeze on land for growth and said work is ongoing on ways to meet local demand.

It said it aims for a fair spread of units between governorates while recognising that needs differ from one area to another. The reply closed by saying that, with seniority already the base rule alongside the listed guiding tests, the aim of the proposal is met.