Okaz

In the past, when plots of land were sold, the price used to be in the tens of thousands of riyals. If a person bought a piece of land that cost SR40,000, in 20 or 30 year’s time the price of this piece of land would reach between SR500,00 and SR600,000. That was true of most residential or commercial land in large or medium-sized cities and provinces. I do not know if this change in price was normal or if it was a game played by real estate businessmen.

However, once a man has purchased a plot of land, he will find when he applies for a construction permit, that he is only allowed to build a structure with two floors on his land.

This regulation is unreasonable for many reasons. For example, after many years, the value of the land may be ten times the original price and erecting a building with only two floors will not be financially beneficial. Also, the building owner may have grown-up sons who need a place to live after they get married. Since they are at the start of their life, they may not be able to afford renting or building a house, which in most cases would cost over a million riyals.

How can an average youth save one million riyals to build a house? It is wise to review the regulation restricting the height of buildings in areas in which it is limited to only two floors. It should at least be four floors. Moreover, I have found that there are some plots of land in Makkah, for example Alawali and Altakhasosi, that are worth at least one million riyals and they are still limited to two floors. Why can’t the owners be allowed to build more floors, to house their married sons or to rent out apartments to generate more income?

Since we are talking about Makkah, I would like to point out that the problem of flies that increased after Haj has not yet been solved. Their presence has become worrying since they are known to be carriers of disease.