Kuwait unveiled new rules Monday to restrict the amount of profit a real estate agent can make on a single deal. Amani Buresli, Kuwait's Minister of Commerce and Industry, issued a new directive setting a cap of one percent on the profit level of any deal. The ministerial decision also said an agent must be registered and licensed to operate in the country, state news agency KUNA reported. Under the new rules, real estate agents must be Kuwaiti or Gulf Cooperation Council nationals, aged 21 and older, with no past breaches of law on their record. They must also have a current trade permit and have high school or higher education, KUNA added. The move is aimed at better regulating Kuwait's real estate sector and protect investors “against ambiguities and against fraud and slack”, KUNA said. The rules also say that any grievances or complaints against a real estate agent will be put before a committee to be formed of four members and a legal expert. The committee will consider complaints and issue an opinion “without delay and in a just manner”. The committee can impose penalties against the party at fault, including suspension and revoking of the agent's license with the ministry. In September, Global Investment House said residential real estate markets in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were most attractive for investors. Global's GCC real estate study said Kuwait's private housing segment remained active in Q2 amounting for 55 percent of total transactions value although the commercial segment continued to suffer from oversupply with vacancy rates still averaging around 20-25 percent. Bouresli earlir said the ministry signed contracts of about KD90 million with a number of building materials companies to meet the needs of the beneficiaries who receive subsidized building materials for the current year. The minister told KUNA that the ministry had taken this step after coordination with the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, Ministry of Development and the Supreme Council for Planning and other bodies. She anticipated that 5,200 residential lots would be distributed to eligible citizens during the current financial year within the framework of the state development plan.
