DAMMAM, 2 October - The Court of Grievances in the Eastern Province is currently examining a case in which a local businessman accuses the Dammam municipality of breach of contract and intimidation.
The plaintiff leased a plot of land in the Ommal district in the city from the municipal authorities on an annual rent of SR48,000 for a 20-year period, said Abdul Rahman Al-Faleh, the attorney representing him.
However, the municipal authorities unilaterally hiked the annual rent to SR60,000 in 1989 and threatened him with eviction if he did not comply with the municipal decision. The businessman had to yield to the municipality's decision, Al-Faleh said.
On the other hand, official sources at the Dammam municipality explained that the hike in the rent was in line with the instructions of the minister of municipal and rural affairs.
The attorney said that the municipality again raised the rent in the beginning of the current year to SR80,000 with a threat that if the decision were unacceptable to his client, his lease agreement would be canceled. Nevertheless, the client refused to pay the increased rent with a demand to reinstate the rent which was agreed upon in the original contract.
Since the building in the plot was very old, his client had to construct another building after pulling down the old one, construct a spacious car park and install lights at a total cost of SR4 million, Al-Faleh added.
His client in his complaint to the court demanded the cancellation of the increase in rent and refund of the excess amount paid to the municipality since 1989, the attorney said.
