Jeddah Deputy Mayor Khaled Aqeel said the SCTA was demanding that each furnished building dedicates parking spaces equivalent to 50 percent of its furnished apartments, while the ministry was demanding a parking space for every single furnished apartment.
A number of investors in the furnished apartments said they were abandoning the business because they could not provide a parking lot for each apartment. They said some of the buildings were old and had no spaces to be used as car parks. "The decision of the ministry will reduce the number of furnished apartments in Jeddah," an investor said on condition of anonymity.
The SCTA demands parking spaces for half the number of furnished apartments in first class buildings, 30 percent in second class, and a suitable number of parking lots in third class buildings.
The Jeddah municipality has threatened not to give licenses for furnished apartments unless they strictly abide by its conditions concerning the provision of parking lots.
The municipality noted that a number of furnished buildings were violating its rules and working without safety certificates from the Civil Defense.
