REGA CEO says new landlord-tenant regs to reinforce contractual stability

Real Estate General Authority’s (REGA) CEO Abdullah bin Saud Al-Hammad

The Real Estate General Authority’s (REGA) CEO Abdullah bin Saud Al-Hammad, said that the approval of the regulatory provisions governing the landlord-tenant relationship reflects the great attention and continuous support that the real estate sector receives from the Kingdom’s leadership.

It also stems from the belief in the importance of achieving real estate balance in a way that serves comprehensive development and protects the rights of all parties in the sector, marking a new phase for real estate in the Kingdom, he added.

Al-Hammad also indicated that REGA will fully assume its role in regulating the residential and commercial rental market in a manner that strengthens fairness and transparency, while ensuring a stable and secure environment for all parties, according to a statement.

The new provisions will help regulate rental prices, achieve real estate balance, and reinforce contractual stability in both residential and commercial lease contracts. They will also increase transparency and reliability while safeguarding the rights of all parties by halting annual rent increases in Riyadh, fixing rents for vacant properties for the next five years, adopting “automatic renewal” as a basic rule for contracts across all Saudi cities, specifying cases where renewal can be denied by the landlord in Riyadh, and requiring that all contracts be documented through the Ejar platform, the CEO said.

Furthermore, these measures ensure a balanced relationship that protects the tenant’s right to stability and the landlord’s right to ownership within a clear regulatory framework, he added.

Al-Hammad stressed that these provisions were issued in implementation of the directives announced at the end of March this year regarding several measures to address rental market challenges.

Earlier today, the Saudi Cabinet approved earlier today the regulatory provisions governing landlord–tenant relations, in line with the directives previously issued by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to implement a package of new regulatory measures for the rental market in Riyadh. These measures aim to address the challenges faced by the Saudi capital in the last few years due to rising residential and commercial rents.