Saudi Gazette report

DAMMAM — About 70 percent of residential units in the Eastern Province cities including Dammam, Dhahran, and Al-Khobar are occupied by singles, according to real estate experts and developers at the Eastern Province Mayoralty, an Arabic daily reported.



Concerned authorities should transform these residential units into family ones, especially the units situated near family neighborhoods, experts and developers said. The mayoralty should allow owners of buildings to construct more top floors so as to provide more residential units for families, they noted.



Many of the owners prefer to rent their units to expatriates who are single. There are several reasons for that. First, expatriates pay rent on time. Second, they keep the property in good condition. Third, they always notify the owner of their intention to evacuate the property and go to another place. Some Saudi tenants just leave the property without notifying the owner of such action beforehand.



In the opinion of real estate experts, transforming residential units occupied by single tenants into family units should contribute to solving the housing crisis in the province. Many Saudi employees come to the province to work for giant companies such as Aramco, SABIC, etc and they bring their families with them. They usually face difficulty finding suitable accommodation.



Recent statistics show that every year over nearly 1,000 couples get married in the province. These couples need proper accommodation at a neighborhood where most of the residential units are occupied by families. Experts believe such action will make rents decrease by at least 15 percent.



Adel Al-Madallah, chairman of the board of directors of Al-Madallah Real Estate Group, said there are some very old neighborhoods in downtown Dammam, Al-Khobar and Dhahran that were built 50 years ago.



They have been occupied by single tenants. He called upon the mayoralty to require the owners of such buildings to rebuild them and then rent them to families.



“Over the past five years, rents have jumped to 40 percent in the province. The increase in rent should be stopped,” Al-Madallah said. A committee should be formed by the mayoralty to come up with a proper solution to these old buildings.



Muhammad Al-Moamar, chairman of the ASAS Company’s board of directors, said residential units should be built at the outskirts of EP cities to accommodate single tenants. The areas where such units will be constructed should have all basic services such as polyclinics, restaurants, police station, etc.



He agreed that the old buildings downtown, which are occupied by single expatriate tenants should be rented to families only. Hardly can a family find a residential unit downtown. This fact has driven rents up to 20 percent. “Most tenants prefer to live inside cities not on the outskirts.”



Abdul Hadi Al-Qahtani, CEO of Emar Real Estate Company, believes that allowing single men to occupy residential units at neighborhoods that are full of families poses security and ethical dangers. Big companies should provide accommodation to their workers outside such neighborhoods, he said.