Kuwait bans private institutes in residential areas, nurseries exempt under new regulations
KUWAIT CITY, March 23: Acting Director General of the Municipality, Eng. Manal Al-Asfour, confirmed that private institutes are not permitted to be established in private residential areas, except nurseries.
In response to a question from member Walid Al-Dagher regarding the presence of private institutes and nurseries in private residential areas, Eng. Al-Asfour explained the legal basis that allows private nurseries to operate in these areas. She stated that Law No. 22 of 2014, which concerns private nurseries, allows private, investment, and commercial residences to be used for operating private nurseries, as long as the provisions of Article 2 of the law are respected. According to Article 3 of this law, private nurseries may be licensed in these types of residences, provided that approval is obtained from neighbors, and that the nursery complies with the relevant regulations. Existing nurseries that were licensed before the law came into effect are allowed to continue operating within the scope of the law's regulations.
The Executive Regulations of the law, particularly Article 17, establish guidelines for the licensing of private nurseries in private, investment, and commercial areas. These include:
A maximum of three nurseries can be licensed per residential plot, with one of them designated for individuals with special needs.
The plot must be located in a service area.
Parking spaces must be provided in proportion to the number of vehicles owned by nursery supervisors.
The building must be entirely used as a nursery and not for residential purposes or any other activity.
The basement cannot be used for any purpose related to the nursery.
Additionally, paragraph 6 of Article 12 requires that approval from the Kuwait Municipality is obtained for the nursery's location, and that approval must also be sought for specific plots.
As a result, private nurseries can be established in private residential areas only after obtaining the necessary approvals from the municipality and neighbors, in line with the executive regulations of Law No. 22/2014.
On the other hand, private institutes are not permitted to be established in private residential areas. According to Table No. 1, which is attached to Ministerial Resolution No. 206 of 2009 and amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 288 of 2024, residential buildings in private and model residential areas are strictly designated for private housing purposes. These areas may not be used for any other purposes, except for nurseries, as previously mentioned. Therefore, the establishment of private institutes in such residential buildings is prohibited, and legal actions must be taken to prevent violations.
Regarding the number of licenses issued for private institutes and nurseries in Kuwait's governorates, Eng. Al-Asfour clarified that the municipality is not authorized to issue licenses for private institutes and nurseries. However, she provided details on the number of violations of the regulations in different governorates:
Farwaniya and Mubarak Al-Kabeer: 41 violations
Capital and Jahra: 17 violations
Hawalli and Ahmadi: A list of violations is being compiled by the respective governorates.
As for the legal measures taken against violating private institutes and nurseries, Eng. Al-Asfour explained that field monitoring efforts result in notifications being sent to the owners or users of properties found in violation. These notifications request that the property be vacated and returned to compliance within a seven-day period.
If the violation is not corrected within the specified period, a report is filed for breaching building regulations under Article 38 of Kuwait Municipality Law No. 33 of 2016, and Article 25 of Ministerial Resolution No. 206/2009, as amended. This report is then submitted to the Legal Department to initiate further legal procedures regarding properties in private housing being used as institutes, nurseries, or charitable/public benefit associations.
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