KUWAIT CITY, May 10: The Court of First Instance has ordered the State Ministry of Housing to retroactively and continuously reimburse a rent allowance of KD11,300 to a citizen who previously replaced and waived his housing application multiple times. In a landmark ruling, the court clarified that the criterion for suspending the rent allowance is not merely the allocation of a housing plot, but rather the completion of the construction period or the connection of electricity.
Details of a lawsuit filed by Attorney Abdul Mohsen Al-Qattan indicated that the plaintiff was allocated a new plot in Al-Mutlaa on May 4, 2023. However, as construction had not yet been completed and electricity was not connected (conditions required for halting the rent allowance ), he remained entitled to receive the allowance.
The administrative authority’s decision to stop the payments and demand repayment for that period was deemed erroneous. The court ruled that the ministry must return the deducted amount and resume payment, as the plaintiff submitted a new housing application and had not yet benefited from the allocated plot. The judgment further stated that rent allowances must be reinstated for all individuals whose payments were previously suspended due to substitution or waiver of alternative housing, starting from the month following the implementation of the relevant regulation.
By Jaber Al-Hamoud
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
