Kuwait's National Assembly has passed a law allowing the government to increase electricity and water charges for expatriates.

The law completely excludes Kuwaiti citizens.

The new charges will not take effect before September 2017 as the law will be applied on apartment buildings after 15 months of its publication in the official gazette, a report in Kuwait Times said.

The law states that Kuwaiti families living in apartment buildings are exempted unless they have other houses. The exemption applies to only one house.

The tariff hike will apply to apartment buildings (expatriates only), the commercial sector, industrial and agricultural sectors and government offices, the report said.