MoI issues decision allowing change of residence requests

Prices of chalets, animal pens, farms soar during Eid holidays

KUWAIT CITY, May 26: The Eid holidays increased the demand for renting rest houses, chalets, farms and livestock pens after the Ministry of Interior issued a decision allowing a change of residence requests and to spend 4 hours in these places, reports Al-Rai daily.

In addition to the chalets, the Abdali and Wafra farms, Kabd livestock and camels pens witnessed a great demand to rent them, as many owners of those places offer holiday packages after recession hit their business before and during the month of Ramadan following the outbreak of the coronavirus last March.

According to the Al-Rai daily the current prices have almost doubled compared to the same period last year or it is just an exaggeration, especially the ‘rest houses’, as the occupancy rate reached 100 percent due to the holiday season and the large number of reservations, as well as the luxurious atmosphere the package offers, in addition that some of them have swimming pools, children’s toys and pets, as a kind of entertainment that doubles the prices and demand.

Permits

One of the brokers told Al-Rai that the Interior Ministry’s decision to grant special permits to change the place of residence during the comprehensive ban before the holidays began spiked the prices of renting rest places as soon as the ministry issued the new decision. According to sources the reservations suddenly shot up to 80 percent which helped the regular prices to rise, as the chalets took the lion’s share, coinciding with the rise in temperatures because the summer season was just around the corner on one hand and the Eid celebration on the other.

He explained the prices for rest places are high compared to their prices on normal days, and a chalet cost 200 dinars per day which cost only 100 dinars before the decision was issued, while renting farms ranged between 100 and 150 per day, although the price was no more than 50 or 100 dinars per day, according to entertainment facilities, furniture, toys, swimming pool, green areas, and other things that make differences in the value of the daily rent from between one place and another, pointing out that the minimum period of rent is 3 days during the current week.

In the context, some citizens demanded the necessity of controlling these places, so that there is no exploitation. They said ‘a calamity of one person is the benefit for another’ or rather one man’s corpse is the candy of another man, taking advantage of the need for people to entertain their children during the summer vacation.

They also called on the state to open recreational places. Most of them asked if it is reasonable not to build recreational places following the closure of the Entertainment City and the Al-Shaab Park. This situation put the people at the mercy of the owners of chalets, pens and farms, who set prices according to their mood and without clear rules.