Kuwait Times, Thursday, Jul 07, 2022 | Zul Hijjah 8, 1443
Study to regulate expats’ ownership of real estate
Kuwait:
A government team began an executive study to prepare a proposal
that will allow expats living in the country to own real estate, expected to be
presented to the new government that will be formed following National Assembly
elections. The study includes granting non-Kuwaitis the right to own a
residential flat in an investment building, provided the applicant has a
permanent residency permit and has not been convicted for any honor or trust
crime during their entire stay in Kuwait. The flat must be used for private
residence for the applicant or their family, and should not be more than 350 sq
m. The person must not own another apartment in Kuwait.
The current law allows an Arab expat to own only one flat in Kuwait following
approval by the Cabinet and a decree in this regard. The new proposal aims at
expanding this issue to include all expats, Arabs or otherwise. Title deeds will
be issued by a decision from the justice minister, and not a decree by the
Cabinet. The study says allowing expats to own property may lead to investment
in Kuwait instead of transferring it to their countries, especially since
remittances exceed $20 billion annually, which is a huge amount, depriving
Kuwait from benefiting from this money.
The study shows that by allowing expats to own flats in Kuwait, the government
can develop the mortgage market like other GCC markets. The study does not see
any risk from ownership, as it is expected only 1,000 flats will be sold to
expats annually, which is a small percentage out of the 400,000 flats in
investment areas. The study shows Kuwait created an investment authority to
attract and encourage direct foreign investments in Kuwait, and one of the
incentives to attract these investments is to grant investors the right to own
flats. This will bring social benefits as expats will find a form of stability
in Kuwait, so they will increase their investments in the country.