Single Men’s Housing Ban Sought in Family Areas

TDT | Manama

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Complaints about homes being rented to single expat men in family neighbourhoods are reaching MPs from across Bahrain, Mohammed Al Olaiwi said, as he called for a change to the property rent law to stop such lets in residential areas.

Al Olaiwi said the matter was being raised in every constituency, despite the differences between districts, which he said showed the need for a legal change to bar such housing in the midst of family homes.

“All MPs receive complaints about bachelor housing, despite the fact that our areas differ,” he said. “That makes a law and an amendment to the rent law necessary, so renting to bachelors in the middle of residential neighbourhoods is banned.”

Problem

He said the problem had dragged on since around 2006 and was still affecting Bahraini families, including residents in Muharraq.

According to Al Olaiwi, the trouble has not been confined to one part of the country. He said people in many areas were still dealing with harm linked to such housing, with families left to live beside overcrowded properties rented to single workers.

He also blamed some landlords, saying they rent out homes with little care for nearby families or the effect on neighbours.

“Some landlords must bear blame as well,” he said. “Some do not care about the neighbours or about families living nearby. They rent the property to expats without caring about what this can bring upon those around them.”

Al Olaiwi said he had already shown videos in earlier sittings of Parliament which, he said, depicted Asian workers under the influence of alcohol, with some acting aggressively towards neighbours.