JEDDAH — About 93 percent of couples wishing to get married believe that the high house rent is one of the many reasons that delayed their marriages, according to the results of a survey. The study, published by Al-Riyadh on Sunday, was conducted by the welfare society for marriage and marital guidance in Jeddah. Ahmed Bin Saleh Al-Amri, the society's chairman, said the high marriage costs, including soaring house rents, have become an obstacle before a large number of young couples in getting married. He asked the private sector establishments to support its male and female staff to get married. "The society will continue to support young couples to get married and establish families but its single-handed efforts will not be enough," he said. Al-Amri said the society is also enlightening couples about the ways and means that will enable them to reduce the marriage expenses, including the choice of apartments. "We have assistance programs for newly-wed couples planning to build a happy family and a lasting marriage," he said. The chairman said the marriage societies alone cannot help all Saudi young men and women complete their marriages due to scarcity of resources and asked all people to come together to curb the rising costs of marriage, which is deterring young couples from establishing families. "The societies alone cannot reduce the rising costs of marriage. This is the responsibility of the entire community," he added. The chairman explained that the society provides young couples planning to get married with grants, soft loans, furniture and other home accessories. He asked the wealthy people to extend financial help to the society to be able to help the young men and women bear the costs of marriage.
