Over two decades on, hundreds of Muharraq families still await homes

TDT | Manama

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Hundreds of families are still waiting for a home — more than two decades after first submitting their applications.

A total of 811 housing requests from Muharraq’s Third Constituency remain pending, including 65 dating back to 2004 and earlier, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning said in a written reply to MP Mohammed Al Olaiwi.

Most of the backlog — 746 cases — involves applications for housing units, along with 17 requests for land plots and 48 for ownership flats.

The oldest unresolved applications are all for housing units: 18 from 2002, 17 from 2003 and 30 from 2004. Later years account for much of the queue, with dozens filed between 2011 and 2014 still awaiting allocation.

For applicants with files from 2004 or earlier, 61 chose an alternative option of a housing plot plus BD40,000 in financing. So far, 15 have benefited, with the remaining cases to be processed in stages as projects are completed.

For those who applied from 2005 onwards, the ministry said it is expanding housing choices and working more closely with private developers under the Government Programme 2023–2026 to speed up delivery.

It highlighted financing schemes such as Tas’heel+ and Tumooh, which allows eligible homeowners to receive an additional BD20,000 in statebacked support 10 years after purchasing a flat to help them upgrade to a larger home.

New developments are also planned, including projects in Madinat Salman and Madinat Khalifa, aimed at easing waiting times and increasing supply.