Bahraini families could be evicted from government houses if homeowners are convicted of terrorism or their nationality is revoked.

They could also be removed from the Housing Ministry's waiting list, as part of proposed amendments to the 40-year-old housing law, which will be discussed by the Shura Council today (June 21), reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Under the amendments, the ministry can only seek an eviction order from the courts following a final verdict.

Families living in temporary government apartments will also be evicted within three months of a court ruling.

People who have been given plots of land will also be ordered to halt all construction work and return the deeds if they have had their nationality revoked or are convicted of terror related charges.

Shura Council member Faoud Al Haji told the GDN that housing privileges should be taken away from people whose citizenship have been withdrawn by a court order because the constitution states homes should only be given to Bahraini families.

"In most cases a house is registered under the name of the father, who is considered the breadwinner except in rare cases when the mother is, so when they are not Bahrainis then the constitutional right doesn't exist," said Mr Al Haji, who is also public utilities and environment affairs committee chairman.

"We as legislators come up with laws that protect Bahraini families and it is unfair that a non-Bahraini continues to benefit, while thousands of others are on the ministry's waiting lists.

"It is not our job to determine how the house or apartment is evicted.

"The Housing Ministry could use legal force to achieve that through the courts, but the unit has to be available for others on the waiting list within three months."

The amendments also state that families could immediately lose their government homes if they fail to repay instalments for a year, falsify information on the application, use the house for illegal and immoral acts, or disregard a warning notice to remove violations.

According to latest statistics, there are around 60,000 families on the Housing Ministry's waiting list.

Bahrain's 2006 anti-terrorism law stipulates that a court has the right to revoke the nationality of those convicted in accordance with the severity of their act. – TradeArabia News Service