The Parliamentary Services Committee approved the proposal with a desire to stop granting new licenses for furnished apartments in all regions of the Kingdom. The proposal includes setting the requirements to avoid ethical abuses, and issuing deterrent decisions against the violators, provided that a detailed and comprehensive study is prepared regarding the regulation of the process of granting licenses for furnished tourist apartments in residential areas.
The proposal comes due to the large number of tourist furnished apartments in all residential areas of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which requires reducing abuses and preserving Islamic values, customs and traditions, and the necessity of diversity in commercial and investment activities in all regions of the Kingdom, and not limiting them to tourist furnished apartments.
The Ministry of Tourism expressed its appreciation to the House of Representatives its keenness to set the requirements to avoid any negative aspects that affect Islamic values, customs and traditions, and stressed that the proposal presented is achieved on the ground, according to the following: 1. Resolution No. 35 of 2019 regarding the organization of practicing the activity of renting the furnished apartments in Article 3 of it stipulated that: “It is required for the license to practice the activity of renting the furnished apartments:- The apartments are in independent buildings, or buildings with commercial use.- Commitment to specifications, standards and requirements Accompanying this decision. 2. And that it was mentioned among the specifications and standards for the furnished apartments accompanying the aforementioned decision regarding the site that: “The building of the building in which the furnished apartments in a tourist or commercial area must be according to the approval of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority.”
The Ministry stated that stopping the licenses absolutely has its negative consequences for investments in general and on the tourism sector in particular, especially with the expansion of the Kingdom of Bahrain in developing its tourism projects, which requires providing a variety of infrastructure from short -term residence facilities.
