DOHA: The municipalities are gearing up to clamp down on illegally partitioned villas and apartments in a fresh initiative aimed at ensuring people’s safety.
Different departments of the municipalities will be coordinating their efforts in the latest push against illegally partitioned houses for residential or any other purpose.
Buildings in which modifications have been made without seeking due approval from the municipalities concerned will also be covered in the crackdown.
But there must be a complaint, with proof if possible, and that would be verified first before a suspected house is raided, local Arabic daily Al Arab reported yesterday.
Civic inspectors on the prowl could, for instance, try to assess if a villa or a building has been illegally partitioned or structural alterations have been carried out inside it illegally, from its exterior, by looking at the number of cars parked outside or air-conditioners fitted on its walls.
These things are visible from outside a building and they can give a clue as to the number of people living in a villa or an apartment building.
This way it is easy to guess if a particular building with apartments or a villa has been illegally partitioned, the daily said quoting civic sources.
The inspectors will, however, respect the privacy of families occupying these units, the daily added without giving further details.
Qatari law, for instance, doesn’t allow government officials to raid a house without permission from the Public Prosecution.
The law regulating the safety of buildings was issued last year, apparently, to enable civic authorities to clamp down on illegally partitioned villas and apartments which have been mushrooming all over due to rising demand for housing and shortages.
The law amended a previous such legislation that was enforced some 31 years ago, in 1984.
Limited-income expatriate families and individuals mostly rely on illegally partitioned houses due to skyrocketing rents of independent residential units.
The Peninsula
