MUSCAT : Authorities have warned residents in Muscat that hanging clothes on balconies for drying can be fined from OMR 50 to a whopping OMR 5,000 and also get a jail term for a period of 24 hours or up to six months.

In a notification issued by the Muscat Muncipality on Wednesday stated that residents must “adhere to the requirements when drying laundry on the balconies of buildings, and to maintain the aesthetic urban facade of Muscat, the Municipality stresses Article (32) of Local Order No. 92/23 for the organization of buildings in the Governorate, as well as the requisites to be taken into account for drying clothes on balconies of residential buildings overlooking public streets; that should be as per the following:

1. In any case, Municipal laws do not permit the hanging of laundry on balconies except after installing elements to cover it.
2. The clothes on balconies should be covered by one of the following elements: ‘Mashrabiya’ or wooden mesh. The perforation of the mesh should be no more than 1.50 cm x 1.50 cm wide, and the concrete openwork should have a depth of at least 10 cm, and perforations no more than 7 cm2.
3. Any multi-story residential building with more than 3 residential units must provide a balcony for each unit to dry clothes, depending on the architectural conditions of the unit, to be covered with one of the covering materials or elements.
4. Using a metal mesh as a covering element for openings in buildings (balconies or windows) is prohibited.

“According to Article No. 14 of Muscat Municipality law, hanging laundry on the balconies of buildings is considered a violation by law, for which one of these two penalties will be imposed: a fine between OMR 50 up to OMR 5,000, or imprisonment for a period of not less than 24 hours and not more than 6 months,” Muscat Municipality added.

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