15/12/2022
16414 times read
15/12/2022
16414 times read
Minister Al-Rasheed amends service fees for chalets
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 15: Real estate agents commented on the decision of the Ministry of Finance to impose fees on chalet transactions, after the fee for waiving a longitudinal meter of chalet facades was increased from 1,000 to 10,000 dinars, noting that the decision will have a significant impact on cheap chalets, reports Al-Qabas daily. Because it is not within the ability of the limited income buyer in the event that the waiver has to bear the specified fee, the luxurious chalets, which are estimated at millions of dinars, will not be affected by their prices, and the financially able may absorb them.
Those affected by the decision now ask if an integrated study was conducted by a specialized team about these fees, and the size of their impact on the chalet sector and the real estate market in general, stressing that a period of time should have been given before starting the implementation of the decision, especially since there are buyers who have recently obtained contracts that are being implemented and bank transactions to finance buying a chalet without knowing the sudden decision that was taken.
Right to exploit
Economic expert Suleiman Al- Dulaijan said that the prices of chalets will be affected by the decision of the Ministry of Finance to raise the fees for waiving the right to exploit a chalet to 10 thousand dinars, but there remains a dispute over who has to pay the fees, is it the assignor or the assignee because the ministerial does not say anything in this regard. Al-Dulaijan added that the impact will be on simple “cheap” chalets in areas such as Al-Khairan and some parts of Mina Abdullah because it is not within the ability of the buyer with limited income in the event that the waiver has to bear the fee specified by the Ministry of Finance.
“It is not reasonable for him to buy a cheap chalet and pay fees that exceed 50 thousand dinars.” With regard to the expensive luxury chalets, estimated at millions of dinars, and with distinctive locations such as the areas of Bnaider and Al-Julaia, Al-Dulaijan confirmed that their prices will not be affected and may be absorbed by the financially able, who will adapt and coexist with the new fees. The director of Al-Lahaib Real Estate Company, and the accredited resident, Ahmed Al-Lahaib, said that the idea of increasing the waiver fees for the right to exploit a chalet is feasible “in principle” for the state treasury, but it was a priority to start reviewing the annual fees applied to chalets to maximize revenues, so that the increase is gradual and within a comprehensive study that takes into account Economic aspects.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, Abdul Wahhab Al- Rasheed, has issued a decision to amend some provisions related to service fees for chalets and plots of land contained in Resolution No. 40 of 2016 regarding the issuance of a regulation for the use of state private real estate properties and service fees, reports Al- Qabas daily. The decision specified 10,000 dinars fee for the longitudinal meter of the waterfront in exchange for waiving the right to exploit a chalet/plot of land (first line), while specifying 5,000 dinars for the linear meter of the front façade in return for waiving the right to exploit a chalet/plot of land (second line).