Study: 45,000 vacant properties in Kuwait due to pandemic

Automobiles stand in a parking lot near retail stores and office towers in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 [Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

More than 45,000 housing units are standing vacant in Kuwait due to the repercussions of coronavirus, CSRGulf announced yesterday.

“Real estate companies face major problems, especially owners who have bank loan installments to reconcile, in addition to the delayed rent payments of thousands of expatriate tenants who left and never came back due to travel restrictions,” the centre said in a report.

Quoting an official source, the report pointed out that over 800,000 expatriates left Kuwait in 2020 either voluntarily or after losing their jobs.

The sources added that the number of departing expatriates was expected to increase in 2021 due to “the recent government decisions, including plans to nationalise public jobs and halt residency renewals for those above 60 years old.”

So far, a total of 219,125 have contracted COVID-19 in Kuwait, 1,226 of whom have died, and 203,539 others have recovered, according to the US’ Worldometers.

READ: Kuwait records highest annual job losses in 30 years

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