MPs Seek Clear Rules to Annex Unused Government Land Beside Homes

TDT | Manama

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An urgent parliamentary proposal calls on the government to adopt one clear process for residents seeking to add small government-owned corners and strips of land beside their homes, with Dumistan’s Block 1022 named as a case where applications have sat unresolved for years.

The request was submitted by MPs Munir Seroor, Zainab AbdulAmeer, Hassan Bukhammas, Hanan Fardan and Mohammed Salman Al Ahmed. It says residents in several areas have repeatedly written to authorities asking to annex adjoining plots that are often unused in practice.

According to the explanatory memorandum, many of these spaces sit next to existing houses and, in many cases, their addition would not affect zoning plans, public services or the public road. The memo also says there is often no objection from neighbours.

The MPs say letters exchanged between the relevant bodies show there is no clear, flexible mechanism for handling these requests, which has left files delayed for long periods. They link the issue to housing pressure and family needs, particularly for lower-income households.

The proposal asks the government, through the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and other relevant bodies, to agree a single mechanism for reviewing requests to annex unused government land adjoining existing homes. It also calls for stalled applications to be reviewed again, including those submitted by residents of Dumistan’s Block 1022.

Under the suggested approach, applications would be assessed against criteria focused on the actual need to extend the home, the absence of conflict with general planning or public safety, and avoiding harm to public facilities or public rights.

The MPs also ask that the same mechanism be applied across Bahrain to prevent different outcomes from one area to another and to support equal treatment for citizens while protecting the public interest.

Among the reasons cited are that the step would not place extra financial burdens on the state, and that the public budget could gain from revenue collected through the sale of such corners.