Protection from Eviction in Bahrain
Our Associate, Fatima Alsayed throws light on the conditions for eviction and analyses the social housing system.
Fatima Alsayed – Associate ([email protected])
Lease agreements are one of the common forms of agreements affecting both individuals (citizens) and companies (tenant leasing out commercial space). Therefore, it is important for legislators to implement regulations that specify the exemptions of evicting a tenant. In this article, we provide an overview of how the Bahraini Legislative protects the people residing in the country by first addressing the conditions for evicting a tenant, following an analysis of the social housing system.
Permitted Eviction
The principal law governing the relationship between the landlord and the tenant is Law No. 27/2014 (the “Property Rent Law”) repealing the previous Law No. 9/1970. The enactment of the Property Rent Law enhanced the protection of the tenant by limiting the conditions where a landlord can seek eviction.
Vacating a leased property is regulated by Chapter nine (9) of the Property Rent Law with Article 38 stipulating the instances where a landlord may request the eviction of the tenant, which is specified as follows:
- if the tenant refused to pay the rent on the date indicated in the lease for a period of two successive months unless the High Civil Court (the “Court”) ruled that the delay was due to a strong excuse;
- if the tenant assigns or sub-leases all or part of the leased property or evacuates it to a person other than its owner without written permission;
- if the tenant or the sub-tenant occupies the leased property for residential purposes with a number exceeding the agreed number of tenants;
- if the tenant occupies the leased property or permits its use in a manner which violates the lease agreement’s condition, the lease purpose, the public order, morals or harms the landlord’s financial interests;
- if the leased property is collapsing and poses a risk to the tenant’s safety, or a final administrative decision was issued to demolish the property;
- if the landlord has to demolish and rebuild the property after the pass of twenty-five (25) years from its construction or the region in which the property is situated is reclassified, provided that the demolition is carried out within one year;
- if the landlord or one of his relatives wants to occupy the property provided that a written agreement is concluded, and the tenant is notified of such intention at least six months before the eviction;
- if the landlord resides outside Bahrain in which the leased property is located or is travelling abroad and does not own another property and wishes to reside therein upon his return whenever such a condition is stipulated in the lease agreement;
- if the tenant uses the leased property or allows third parties to use it for purposes other than that intended therefore in accordance with its nature or has made changes that may damage the safety of its constructions; or
- if the tenant has left the leased property for a period of no less than one year.
Such provision protect the tenant in the case where the landlord does not occupy,demolish or rebuild the property within one year from eviction, giving the tenant the right to either re-occupy the property or claim for compensation equal to an amount that does not exceed the rent for the remaining period of the lease term. In the circumstances where the landlord obliges the tenant to vacate the leased property for reasons not mentioned above, this will be considered a violation of the Property Rent Law.
After a tenant is evacuated and in the need of a place to reside, they may apply for a house under the social housing system in Bahrain, should the conditions mentioned in the following section applies.
Social Housing System in Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Constitution protects its Citizens under Article 9(6), by obliging the government to provide housing for families with low income. On that basis, an Emiri Decree was issued in 1975 to establish the Ministry of Housing to manage housing affairs inside Bahrain. Such establishment was the beginning of a great accomplishment from the government’s end in planning and distributing housing to its Citizens. To this date, the Ministry of Housing continues to establish housing projects that expand across Bahrain, providing support to Bahraini families.
Who Can Apply for Housing?
On 8 October 2015, The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endorsements issued Ministerial Resolution No. 909/2015 (the “Resolution”) regulating various elements of the housing system in connection with the Housing Law established under Legislative Decree No. 10/1976 (the “Housing Law”).
Anyone that falls under the following categories is deemed applicable for housing as per Article 3 of the Resolution: (i) the husband, wife and children; (ii) one of the parents with one or more minor children holding Bahraini nationality, or a Bahraini woman married to a foreigner that has one or more minor children holding Bahraini nationality; (iii) an unmarried twenty-one (21) year old male living with both or one of his Bahraini parents; (iv) an orphaned twenty-one (21) year old male with minor siblings; and (v) divorced, abandoned or widowed women that do not have children or have an orphaned child (this category is granted temporary housing service only at the discretion of the housing committee).
In accordance with Article 5 of the Resolution, the application is deemed acceptable if the following conditions are present:
- The applicant is a Bahraini citizen;
- The applicant is the head of the household (any family member introduced under the categories aforementioned);
- The applicant’s age shall exceed twenty-one (21) years but not more than 50 years;
- His monthly income does not exceed nine hundred Bahraini dinars at the time of submitting the application and not more than one thousand and two hundred Bahraini dinars upon allocation;
- None of the house members have ever obtained any housing service for the purpose of owning a home from the government or any other entity;
- The applicant or a member of his family should not own real estate at the time of submitting the application subsequent to three years until the allocation. Any person who has benefited from a house through one of the Islamic financing services will be excluded from such condition if the following occurs: (i) Ownership of a real estate of less than 100 square meters, provided that it is not suitable for housing or for a building of residence; and (ii) the wife’s ownership of a property by inheritance; and
- The applicant’s family are permanently residing in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Concluding Remarks
It is clear from the above that Bahraini Legislative provides an appropriate level of security and assurance to its citizens. This is demonstrated by the exemptions stipulated under the Property Rent Law and the obligation stated under the Constitution obliging the government to distribute homes to families with low income. This gives assurance to Bahrain Nationals that the government will not abandon them and will take full responsibility for its people.
For more information, please contact us on [email protected].