Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH – The Saudi Ministry of Housing has rejected more than 300,000 applications for housing, while accepting more than 620,000 applications deemed eligible for the housing aid. Through SMS messages sent to applicants, the ministry asked applicants to check the status of their application through Eskan.gov website.

 

Rejected applicants were shocked to know that their applications were turned down due to their stay of more than 90 days outside the Kingdom in the past 12 months.

 

The shunned applicants argued that most of the rules by the Ministry of Housing are not clear. 

 

In response to the disgruntled applicants, the Ministry of Housing, through its Twitter account, said the applications of those who spent more than three months outside the Kingdom are temporarily on hold until they, without delay, submit in writing the reasons why they were outside the Kingdom in the said period, along with the necessary documents to corroborate their claims.

 

Applicants who were outside the Kingdom for education or medical treatment were also asked to submit their objections through the website.

 

Saudi Minister of Housing Shuwaish Al-Duwaihi said in a statement that the ministry worked with a number of government departments to verify the data submitted in the applications. He said applicants who did not complete their application were notified and asked to complete it.

 

Those whose applications were accepted, on the other hand, hoped that the ministry will act with dispatch in delivering to them their units so they can stop paying the rents.

 

According to a report published in a local daily, the current projects submitted by the Ministry of Housing covers only 34 percent of the total number of applicants eligible for housing. The report revealed that there are three areas in the Kingdom where the number of housing units is greater than the number of eligible applicants, while in other areas the number of housing units covers only 10 percent of applicants.

 

Earlier, the Ministry of Housing received hundreds of thousands of applicants applying for housing in response to its huge media campaign.