Authorities have closed multiple violating residential buildings in the Al-Hasawi area of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh following nearly two years of warnings over deteriorating conditions and overcrowding that posed safety threats. The enforcement measures included cutting electricity and other utilities to force residents from hazardous properties while operations uncovered numerous commercial and food-safety violations that resulted in the closure of hundreds of shops. The campaign formed part of a coordinated effort involving 11 government entities to strengthen security and address breaches involving buildings and public safety.
Low-income expatriate workers have long been drawn to the area by cheap accommodation that allows them to maximize remittances sent to families abroad. This preference has sustained a cycle in which rooms are shared by eight to 10 people with some properties offering beds for KD 40 to KD 50 per month far exceeding safe occupancy. The report noted that many tenants continued living in the substandard conditions unaware that warnings had been issued to owners and caretakers who did not relay them.
Displaced residents from the shut buildings have relocated to neighboring areas where comparable overcrowding has begun to emerge in already dense neighborhoods. Sources familiar with the situation described rooms designed for fewer occupants now housing multiple additional people in a repeating pattern that places further strain on local infrastructure. Kuwait authorities arranged temporary shelters equipped with essential services for those affected to handle the immediate humanitarian requirements of the evictions.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah oversaw aspects of the large-scale security campaign that targeted unsafe buildings illegal businesses and residency violators. The municipality has pursued demolition of 42 unsafe structures in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh as part of sustained actions against dilapidated properties. Municipal announcements detailed these steps to eliminate hazards in the district.
Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh has struggled for years with accumulated violations including illegal modifications and overcrowded housing that prompted the recent multi-agency response. The Public Authority for Civil Information places the expatriate population at roughly 3.3 million representing more than two-thirds of total residents and heightening demand for affordable units. Officials continue monitoring additional buildings suspected of exceeding occupancy limits or failing maintenance standards to curb further violations.
