Subletting will be made an offence punishable by eviction under a new law that is set to be introduced in Bahrain, a report said.

During an extraordinary session of the Shura Council yesterday, members approved an addition to 46-article rent law that will bar tenants from renting out rooms to others, said the Gulf Daily News report.

Council chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh said he knew of cases where expatriate families would rent four or five bedroom homes, which were then sublet to other expatriates.

"One expatriate family rents the home and then five family members lease individual rooms inside, which is a clear breach of contract since it means that at least 20 people are using the place rather than the acceptable maximum number of six," he said.

"That leads to maintenance costing more, quite beside the safety worries, and property owners have every right to end contracts in such cases.

Facilities

"We hear cases of indifferent construction companies renting homes and stacking 10 workers in a room. To me, these are inhumane and landlords have to end contracts if they see such abuses," Al Saleh added.

Meanwhile, Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa announced that tenants should have every right to use all facilities within their building for free, unless otherwise stated in their contract.

"Tenants will have every right to use facilities like pools, gardens and security that are generally within the building - and even the phone, electricity and water - unless stated otherwise in contract," he said.

"There are some cases in which the property owner says he doesn't agree on providing those services for free, but if not stated in contract, then they are." - TradeArabia News Service