100 landlords in Manama facing action

Legal action has been launched against 100 landlords in the Capital Governorate for violating labour accommodation guidelines introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

A total of 451 properties were inspected by officials from the ministries of Interior and the Labour and Social Development to ensure measures have been taken to reduce the number of workers in each of these accommodations.

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The measures follow a decision made by the Government Executive Committee chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, and directives from Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

According to Capital Governor Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, 451 building owners had been warned to rectify their situation and of these 100 face legal action.

“Most of the owners pledged to remove the violations, foremost of which was the indiscriminate accumulation of workers,” he said.

“Electricity connection was cut off to 32 buildings and 14 buildings had their connections restored after they rectified their status at least by 43 per cent.

“The governorate will not hesitate to take legal action against building owners who violate safety requirements in collective housing units.

“The owners bear full responsibility for any damage that may be caused to the residents.

“Our team continues to carry out daily field visits to correct the conditions of the buildings that violate the requirements, including cutting the power supply to the building in violation.

“Overcrowding in buildings has contributed to the spread of Covid-19, so the landlords are responsible for the spread of the infection because they violated the collective housing laws,” said Shaikh Hisham.

He urged owners of these buildings to quickly correct their conditions and work to reduce the number of workers in these buildings to preserve everyone’s safety.

He also stated that these violations are punishable by imprisonment for a period of not fewer than three months, and by a fine that does not exceed BD10,000, or either of these two penalties for anyone who refuses to implement any measure to prevent the spread of the disease.

Hundreds of workers have already been relocated to a dedicated shelter at Adhari Park that has a capacity to house 500 people.

Officials have maintained that the migrant workers, who are being relocated to dedicated government shelters donated by Bahrainis, were free of Covid-19, allowed to move freely, and will not be deported due to public fears.