Southern Municipal Council backs BD13,000 cap for home renovation aid

TDT | Manama

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BD13,000 could become the new upper limit for renovation support under the Cities and Villages Development Project.

The Southern Municipal Council voted yesterday to write to the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, urging a change to the project’s guidance manual.

The council backed, unanimously, a proposal from Mohammed Darraj, the member for the Fourth Constituency, to lift the cap from BD10,000 to BD13,000, or less, but only in exceptional cases.

Darraj told the council: “The expected actual cost of carrying out the works has become higher than the amount estimated and approved in the first phase. There is a need to complete the project without placing additional burdens on citizens. Citizens rely on limited salaries, which makes them unable to cover any additional costs.”

Under the proposal, the higher ceiling would apply only when extra works are needed because of the scale of damage and rising costs, subject to a decision by the project’s Exceptions Committee.

Darraj said the extra amount would also help with items that can sit outside the main renovation schedule, including fees to issue permits, engineering drawings and other additional works linked to the job.

He linked the request to the aim of the Cities and Villages Development Project’s renovation and rain insulation service, which targets safe and suitable housing for low-income citizens, with the aim of raising housing standards across the Kingdom.

In its recommendation, the council referred to provisions in the Municipalities Law and its executive regulations that allow municipal councils to propose local projects and follow up services within their remit, while co-ordinating with the relevant authorities.

The proposal also notes that the “houses at risk of collapse” project has been stopped since 2012, leaving some urgent cases relying on renovation support despite the scale of damage in some homes.