Bahrain’s Housing Ministry has allocated BD34 million ($90.1 million) in the form of loans for needy Bahraini families to renovate their dilapidated homes.

The His Majesty King Hamad Scheme for Dilapidated Homes, which was originally a grant under the Royal Charity Organisation and was overseen by the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs, was turned into a loan-based system under the Housing Ministry following a Cabinet decision in 2011, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The ministry grants up to BD20,000 as loan to eligible beneficiaries, depending on income of the head of family, to carry out renovation in accordance with legal and technical specifications set by the ministry.

Under the new criteria, the applicant must be a Bahraini citizen aged between 18 and 60 and head of the direct family. The share of the direct family members must not be less than 75 per cent of the home ownership, otherwise a written authorisation from other heirs is required. The direct family must not earn a monthly income of more than BD1,200 and less than BD120.

Also, any member of the direct family who had benefited from any housing service over the past 15 years, apart from rented flats, is not eligible for such loans. - TradeArabia News Service