The haris is called the king of the building for many reasons. They are envied for their free accommodation, but mostly for the huge amounts of money they make from their tenants.
Raj was a haris for over five years in Salmiya. An Indian from Kerala, Raj maintained several buildings owned by a Kuwaiti, where he learned some of the ugly tricks practiced by some harises in Kuwait.
“I was told by some of my colleagues here that if some tenants are not desirable enough – probably not paying on time – they can easily pressure them and within a month, they will vacate the building,” he said. “One trick was to make their life miserable by switching on and off their electricity,” he said.
According to Raj, this way they make money accepting new tenants. Nowadays, reserving a flat will cost a new tenant from KD 80-KD 250 or even more depending on the location and place you want. Harises call the term ‘arboon’, which is actually a bribe. ‘Arboon’ in Arabic means reservation fee, but apparently this is not the meaning of arboon for some harises in Kuwait. “If we see a tenant really likes the flat, we ask them to pay more.
They will readily pay because probably their job is closer or the school of their children is down the corner. The amount paid will be mine alone because the only concern of my boss is the rent of the flat, and what they like is for their flats to be fully occupied,” Raj added.
Click on the Article Source to read the whole article: Kuwait Times
