Bahrain UPDA Streamlines Property Freezing and Unfreezing Services

As part of ongoing government efforts to enhance the quality of services and streamline procedures, the Urban Planning and Development Authority (UPDA) has upgraded two key services: Freezing a Property and Unfreezing a Property.

The property freezing service allows government agencies to temporarily freeze a property or multiple properties that are affected by development projects or for planning and replanning purposes. Meanwhile, the property unfreezing service enables the review and approval of requests to lift the freeze on one or more properties in the building permit system, in coordination with relevant authorities, allowing owners to develop their properties in line with the approved classification.

Under these upgraded services, the processing time for freezing a property has been reduced from 15 days to 4 days, while the number of required approvals has also been minimized. Similarly, the time needed to unfreeze a property has been shortened from 12 days to 9 days, with required documents reduced by 50% and fewer approvals needed. These improvements aim to enhance procedural efficiency and improve the overall level of service.

Engineer Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Khayyat, CEO of the Urban Planning and Development Authority, emphasized that the new services are part of the Authority’s adoption of innovative digital solutions designed to streamline procedures and accelerate transactions, ultimately improving service quality in line with digital transformation goals.

Al Khayyat added that the launch of these services reflects the Authority’s commitment to reducing time and effort for institutions while boosting the effectiveness of the overall system.

It is noteworthy that, as part of continuous government efforts to enhance services, more than 1,300 government services have been documented, translated, and published. Of these, 800 services have undergone development and re-engineering across various sectors, based on feedback submitted via the National System for Suggestions and Complaints (“Tawasul”), investor observations, and mystery shopper reports assessing government services. The government has also launched guides and service level agreements, contributing to improved procedures, higher service quality, better user experience, and support for the digital transformation of government services.