Extension granted for commercial activities in residential buildings

MUSCAT, Jan 8 - As a reprieve to scores of business owners, the Muscat Municipality has decided to allow commercial activity in residential areas for one more year. According to a senior official at the municipality, the decision is applicable to buildings outside the designated areas for practising commercial activities.
“The new decision allows business activities in residential buildings for one more year. This follows requests from building owners to renew their lease agreements citing loss of revenue,” the official said.
In July 2018, the civic authorities had notified that commercial use of residential buildings outside the designated and approved streets under the jurisdiction of the Muscat Municipality should be stopped from the beginning of 2019.
The notification related to the two orders issued by the civic body in 2016 regarding the use of residential buildings for commercial activities, including extension of the time frame for buildings located outside the approved streets.
With the new decision, the official stressed that both parties — building owners and tenants — should undertake not to renew the contract on its expiry.
The decision to grant extension was taken after discussions with businesses and other authorities concerned, the official said. Activities that were allowed in the residential buildings, among many others, include kindergartens and nurseries, institutes and related activities for people with special needs, private schools and Quran learning centres.

At the same time, the official said the municipality will not allow any kind of warehouses or workshops in the residential areas.

“The municipality will take all necessary steps to ensure that building owners comply with the law,” he said.

According to the official, zoning restrictions have already been made to avoid nuisance by designating distinct areas for certain types of development and use.

Article 115 of the civic law does not allow establishment of workshops and factories or crushers and also the sale of construction materials in residential areas that cause nuisance and inconvenience to the public.

“The properties must be used for the purpose for which they have been registered under

the building permit,” stipulates the law.

Warehouses in the middle of residential neighbourhoods harm residents. Owners of such warehouses tend to bring in trucks to transport their goods, which delay traffic within the neighbourhoods.