Bill tackles real estate … Homes here ten times average family income

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KUWAIT CITY, May 2: MP Abdulaziz Al- Saqaabi submitted a bill on addressing real estate market issues to limit investments and trading in private houses and improve investments in real estate projects which are located outside the model residential areas for citizens. He pointed out the average price of a house in Kuwait is 10 times the average income of a Kuwaiti family, while it is two times in the USA and two and a half in Saudi Arabia.

He said almost 15,000 vacant plots are being monopolized, in addition to the old houses; indicating some traders own tens of houses divided into flats which they rent out to citizens at exorbitant rental fees. The bill amends Law No. 20/2016 to limit the water and electricity subsidies to maximum of two houses owned by a citizen with a total maximum size of 2,000 square meters. Al-Saqaabi also proposed revising Law No. 50/1994 which imposes tax on vacant plots bigger than 5,000 square meters, suggesting that the tax should be imposed on vacant plots measuring 500 square meters and up.

Stipulates
The existing law stipulates tax of KD10 per square meter, while the bill stipulates increasing the tax as follows: KD20 for the second year, KD30 for the third year and so on until it reaches KD100 per square meter. The lawmaker recommended as well the revision of Law No. 5/1959 to increase the fees for real estate registration starting from the third house to become 2.5 percent of the price of the house and the maximum is 15 percent. He prepared a bill on imposing tax on citizens who own more than two houses in private housing areas to encourage traders to sell the houses they own in private areas and then switch to investing in commercial real estate areas. MP Khalil Al-Saleh submitted a proposal to increase the number of patrols and security check points in the entrances and exits of various areas to provide more protection and security for citizens and their properties.

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