DOHA: The Ministry of Municipalities, represented by the State Property Department, has called on citizens who are beneficiaries of desert homes (Bait Al Bar) and who have not yet been issued usufruct rights to complete the procedures for requesting confirmation of the usufruct right within one year from the date of the announcement.
This is part of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to preserve public and private state property and regulate usufruct rights.
This step is provided by the provisions of Law No. (10) of 1987 regarding public and private state property and its amendments, and by Cabinet Resolution No. (6) of 2025 regarding the terms and conditions for benefiting from desert houses, to regulate the process of benefiting from these houses, and ensure the rights of the state and beneficiaries alike.
The ministry explained that applications are submitted through customer service centres in the relevant municipalities, where the beneficiary must fill out the approved form for the installation request and attach the required documents.
Documents required include a copy of a valid ID card (beneficiary/agent), a copy of the national address certificate, a recent copy of the official power of attorney if the application is submitted by the beneficiary’s agent, a certificate of inventory of heirs if the application is submitted by the beneficiary’s heirs or their agent, in addition to any documents supporting the application, to prove the applicant’s relationship with the desert house, such as a customary sale contract between the previous beneficiary and the current beneficiary who applied, or documents related to the foundations and controls for acknowledging the right to use, such as a desert house on state land, for example a previous approval to confirm the right to use the desert house.
This is in preparation for applying to the competent committee to decide on the application to confirm the right to use the desert house.
The ministry emphasised the need to attach all required documents and adhere to the specified deadline for applying for confirmation, as incomplete applications or applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
It also clarified that approval of the application does not necessarily mean confirmation of the usufruct right, as complete applications will be presented to the competent committee, which will issue its decision within six months from the date the applicant is notified of the acceptance of their application.
There is a mechanism for appealing a rejection decision, by Cabinet Resolution No. 5 of 2025 regarding the right to use desert homes.
The resolution states that the person concerned may appeal to the Minister against the decision issued to reject his application, within thirty days from the date of notification of the decision.
The Minister shall decide on the appeal within 30 days from the date of its submission.
The expiry of this period without a response shall be considered an implicit rejection of the appeal, and the Minister’s decision to decide on the appeal shall be final. It asked citizens who benefit from desert houses and who have not yet been issued usufruct rights to visit the municipality to which the desert house is administratively affiliated and fill out the application form for establishing the desert house.
This also includes beneficiaries who previously submitted applications for establishment in previous years without being issued usufruct rights.
They must resubmit their application for establishment again, as the previous application will be merged with the new one, pending review and decision by the competent committee.
The ministry indicated that if the beneficiary fails to submit a request to confirm the usufruct right within the specified period, the usufruct right will be deemed terminated, the desert house will be removed administratively as an encroachment on state property, and all previous licenses and permits related to it will be revoked.
