A few weeks ago, I wrote an article called “Residential buildings in Saudi Arabia lack proper management”. I talked about the need for property management and residential associations for the protection of owners and residents alike. However, residents in Jeddah, where I live, are facing another important and highly frustrating trend in residential buildings that is out of control and seemingly unmonitored by local authorities. Families who pay rent and do not own their own homes, are being dealt the short end of the stick once again.
Nowadays, anyone looking for a reasonably priced, aesthetically pleasing and functionally designed apartment is in for a nasty shock. In many neighborhoods across Jeddah, rental prices are far from reasonable for what is ridiculously on offer in return.
As you begin your search, you start looking for the ideal location: Not too far from work and near enough to your families. You might come across a new residential building that has quite an aesthetically pleasing façade. Lit up like a carnival, with big banners advertising “luxury apartments for rent”, make you very enthusiastic and optimistic. However, your hopes are completely dashed as soon as you set foot into one of the so-called apartments, which are more like utility closets than potential homes. For example, on a small plot of land, instead of constructing a building with two apartments per floor, the greedy owners build four tiny ones. The entrance inside the apartment is quite narrow. The kitchen is so tiny, you wonder, where are you supposed to install the fridge, let alone a washing machine? A cousin of mine asked this question to a man who was showing him around such an apartment.
“Well, you can order takeaway or eat out. And you can wash your clothes at a laundry service,” came back his droll answer. My cousin was not amused. The other rooms, or rather cupboards, could barely accommodate proper furniture for grown adults. Forget about room for children to play, and bathrooms are only big enough for short little people or very skinny ones.
Unfortunately this building is only one of many clone-like buildings; with the exact same horribly designed interiors. They are supposed to be residential homes, not hotel rooms.
Another unfortunate feature of many of these buildings is that they are located on very narrow streets, due to shortsighted urban planning. They do not allow for parking space. Even when they do, there are no rooms to accommodate drivers, although, as we all know, many families in Saudi cannot do without them.
Another disturbing trend is the way these tasteless apartments are decorated. Badly done gold gilding and horrible plaster cast decorations on ceilings and walls, and each room painted with garish colors. All this camouflage I assume, is to compensate for the tiny space and attempt to hide the cheapest materials of the worst quality being used in construction.
Now the question is: Who is to blame for the rampant construction of such inhuman habitats across Jeddah that are being offered for rent at ridiculous prices to boot? Well, as I pointed out in the title of this article, we can put part of the blame on greedy businesses men, who want to spend very little in return for very high profits, regardless of the viability and quality of their end product.
However, as far as I know, anyone who wishes to build a new construction has to obtain a permit from the local municipality. They also have to show the various construction maps and architectural designs to the responsible party in the municipality for final approval. My question is: How on earth can anyone with a clear conscious, anyone with any foresight and intelligence, permit these people to construct such atrocious residential buildings in the first place? Or is it due to the disturbing trend of money exchanging hands in order for some individuals to turn a blind eye to the obvious? I really would like answers to these questions, as I am sure many of you do too.
Email: maha.mufti@arabnews.com