Khalid Zaini, coordinator for the committee overseeing uninhabitable buildings, said notifications have been sent to building surveyors to ascertain whether the 348 buildings should be demolished or repaired.

He added that the majority of these buildings are located in the western and eastern Baghdadiyah districts of the city.

This follows a similar drive a few months ago in which the municipality called on around 650 building owners to visit its committee overseeing uninhabitable buildings. Zaini said some of the owners of these buildings have failed to visit the committee and urged them to do so quickly. He also asked them to bring with them their title deeds proving ownership.

“Previous incidents in which buildings collapsed were due to them not being built with proper building material, or due to poor maintenance, or old age,” he added.

“Many of these buildings have been built illegally using mud, wood and other material that should not have been used for building. This has then led to homes becoming unsafe,” he added.

In May this year the Jeddah Municipality asked the Saudi Electric Company to disconnect power to over 6,000 buildings that were designated as uninhabitable and dangerous. This came after two buildings collapsed in the city — one in the Al-Sahifah district near Bab Makkah and the other in the Baghdadiyah district. Many people, including several children, died when the buildings collapsed.

The majority of these buildings provide cheap accommodation to non-Saudis who live on low incomes.