Madinat Salman Residents Face Higher Housing Bills

TDT | Manama 

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Residents of Madinat Salman flats have seen monthly payments rise from BD20 and BD40 to as high as BD166, and MP Jalal Kadhem has called for an urgent review of how housing bills are calculated.

Families also complained of backdated sums, new contract terms and added service and maintenance costs after being called in to update their housing files, he said.

Widows, divorcees, pensioners and low-income households risked being hit hardest by sudden rises they could struggle to pay.

Kadhem said some monthly instalments once set at BD20 or BD40 are now quoted at BD97 and BD125, with some reaching about BD166.

He called for each affected case to be checked and said no backdated bill should be imposed until residents were clearly told why it was due and the legal basis for charging it.

Kadhem also questioned how the cost-of-living allowance was counted when calculating household income.

The allowance was meant to help people with living costs, he said, rather than result in larger monthly deductions.

He called for adherence to the rules governing its treatment as income and said special care should be taken with widows, divorcees, pensioners and those on low incomes.

Kadhem said he had raised the matter before and would pursue the latest changes with the Housing and Urban Planning Ministry.

He wants the ministry to explain how instalments, service fees and maintenance charges were recalculated, why some sums are sought for past months and the legal grounds for changing original contracts.

"When a citizen received a housing unit, they signed a contract and agreed to what was written in it," he said.

"Any later change that raises instalments or brings in backdated payments must be clear, rest on lawful procedures and be fully explained to the beneficiary, while taking account of their means and social circumstances."

Kadhem said he was not seeking to wipe out sums that were lawfully due.

Instead, he said families should not be caught without warning by piled-up bills or steep rises that strain household budgets.