bahrainthismonth.com | NOVEMBER 2025 OPINION 83 RERA’s structure provides a foundation on which reform can be built. One key step could be the establishment of an independent Ombudsman’s Office – a neutral authority empowered to hear individual complaints, audit management practices, and hold Owners Association boards and building management companies accountable. “An Ombudsman would change everything,” says a property law consultant. “It would give individual owners a voice without destabilising the entire system.” Equally crucial might be the creation of an Owners Association, Institute or Society, functioning independently of RERA. Such an institution could provide training, governance guidance, and a platform for experience-sharing among Residential Apartment Building Owners Association Boards, ensuring that Boards act transparently and with competence rather than convenience. Apartment ownership, at its core, should symbolise stability – a sense of belonging and security. However, all too often, it turns into a quiet endurance test. Owners deserve more than polite circular advice and vague ‘Financial Trends’ spreadsheets instead of audited accounts with verifiable supporting contracts, invoices and receipts. They deserve transparency, accountability and dignity. Until these are guaranteed, the promise of apartment home ownership will remain an uneasy dream for many, balanced on a fragile foundation of trust. A few tips to consider when buying an apartment – • Check the building OA Boards history for stability and effective decision making. • Carefully ask to see and examine the approved budgets and accounts. • Read the last four years of AGM Minutes. • Ensure that the OA does not have enormous outstanding debts (maintenance/service charges) or accumulated losses that you will inherit and pay towards annually. • Read the reviews on the BMC if there is one managing the building. • Ask to see the Complaints Register data – Complaints by type (Noise, maintenance etc.).
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