KUWAIT: The government's intention of cracking down on the number of residences being used to house single men seems to have been forgotten , with bachelors reportedly moving into the Abdullah Al-Salem, Adeliya, Faiha, Nuzha, Yarouk, Qadasiya, Dahiya, Dasma and Sawaber areas.

Teams of municipality officials working to remove illegal structures have apparently noted a number of houses and villas being rented to single men and Asian families in these areas. One official revealed that the teams had sent a number of memos to the municipality's legal department to ask the Ministry of Electricity and Water to cut power to all those illegally occupying properties in the aforementioned areas.

The official said that one home in Dahiya close to the local Co-op had been illegally rented to Asian workers. The owner was notified and promised to evict the tenants, but had failed to do so, the official said, expressing concern about what violations could result from such individuals being housed next to Kuwaiti families' homes.

The official also cited the case of a large home in Adeliya built on an site of 750 square meters in total and owned by a former senior military official, which is reportedly almost entirely sublet, except for the annex which the owner lives in with his family. The basement of the house has been divided into eight rooms, the official said, with all of them being rented by bachelors, while the first floor has been turned into a warehouse and the rest of the rooms, other than the annexe, are rented out.

A citation had been issued to the owner, the official said, with the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) asked to cut the power to the property. The official explained that as well as returning the property to its original use, those using their properties for illegal purposes must also pay a fine of between KD 800 and KD 1,000.