Some 300 property owners in Makkah have been fined by the mayoralty for failing to meet pilgrims' accommodation requirements before the set deadline, which was last Rajab (June 2011). The Pilgrims' Housing Inspection Committee (PHIC) listed the names of all those who filed late applications to obtain rent licenses for Haj. It sent the names to the compliance committee at Makkah Mayoralty, which in turn, decided to impose a SR500 fine on each applicant found not in compliance with the requirements, sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. PHIC asked the violators to pay the fines at the Civil Status Administration and fulfill all conditions to meet the accommodation requirements. “No exceptions are made while granting licenses for pilgrims' housing. All applicants have to comply with the pilgrims' housing regulations,” said Eng. Zuhair Haddad, PHIC Chairman. He said applicants were given seven months to submit license applications together with necessary documents for pilgrims' housing but they failed to do so. This year, PHIC issued 6,900 licenses over seven months to buildings which meet pilgrims' accommodation requirements and which can accommodate 1,600,000 pilgrims, said Haddad. “Currently, PHIC is processing 400 license applications.” There are enough buildings for pilgrims' accommodation for next Haj season, Haddad said. __
