Hassan Al-Sitri
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning revealed its position on the proposal with the desire of the applicant regarding the application of the principle of justice based on the seniority of the date of the housing application in the distribution of units, stressing that the objectives targeted by the proposal are actually achieved on the ground, as the allocation procedures are implemented in accordance with the approved housing system that adopts the seniority criterion as a basic criterion in granting ownership services, while being guided by a number of other regulatory standards depending on the cases.
The Public Utilities and Environment Committee approved the proposal with a desire for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to apply the principle of justice based on the seniority of the date of the housing application in distributing housing units to all the people of Bahrain for the currently existing housing projects instead of adopting the seniority of the date of the entitlement certificate and the region in the currently existing housing distributions.
For its part, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning stated that the housing system issued by Ministerial Resolution No. (909) of 2015 has regulated the standards that must be followed regarding the distribution of housing services, through Article No. (79), which stipulates that: “Taking into account the provisions of entitlement to the housing service contained in this decision, the standard of seniority of the application shall be adopted regarding the allocation of the ownership service primarily in any website, and the Ministry may be guided by the following standards: 1. Place of residence of the applicant’s parents and grandparents.2. The applicant’s place of residence at the time of allocation, his previous places of residence, and the number of years of residence there, according to the data recorded in the Central Information Agency.3. Location of the housing project.4. Place of residence of the applicant’s parents-in-law and grandparents.5. The applicant’s desire recorded in his application at the time of submitting the application or later.6. Any criteria related to the applicant’s special circumstances shall be determined by the Minister.”
Based on the aforementioned legal text, the Ministry confirmed its adoption primarily of the seniority standard of the application once it is allocated to the ownership service, provided that it is guided by the standards mentioned in the same article, depending on the circumstances. The Ministry indicated that the housing system gives the Ministry the right to expedite the allocation of the ownership service. This is due to specific considerations in addition to the basic criterion, which is the criterion of seniority of the application, as stipulated in Article No. (81) of the same decision, which is as follows:
“Taking into account the provisions of entitlement to housing service contained in this decision, the standard of seniority of applications is mainly adopted regarding the allocation of housing services, and the Minister may – after taking the opinion of the Housing Committee – expedite the allocation in view of the following considerations:
1. Number of family members.2. The financial condition of the head of the family and the rest of its members.3. The health condition of the head of the family or any member of his family.4. The current housing conditions of the head of the household and his family.5. Date of submitting the housing service application.6. Location of the residence.7. Other circumstances relating to the applicant or any member of his family.”
Based on the above, the purpose of the proposal has actually been achieved on the ground, as the housing system and the resulting procedures for allocating ownership services are carried out according to the seniority criterion as a basic criterion, while being guided by some of the criteria that were mentioned in some cases.
