According to some media sources that the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif bin Abdul Malik Al Sheikh, has approved building requirements for premium projects with heights of up to 12 stories in all small and medium-sized cities across the Kingdom, and this decision is expected to help resolve the rental and housing crises in these cities.
A step toward resolving the housing crisis
The approval by the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif bin Abdul Malik Al Sheikh, of the building requirements for premium projects with heights of up to 12 stories in all small and medium-sized cities across the Kingdom, to help resolve the rental and housing crises in these cities. The decision excludes the five major cities—Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, and Madinah—as stated in the resolution.
According to sources, this step by the Ministry, as stated in the Minister’s directive, was taken in response to the large number of requests received from some municipal authorities and local governments seeking exemptions for certain service, commercial, and administrative projects from the approved building codes and requirements for small and medium-sized cities that do not have a detailed master plan.
Depending on the project’s area
It was noted sources indicated that the Ministry, based on the approval of Minister Al-Sheikh, classified the requirements and heights for distinctive projects into four categories based on project area. It decided to allow 6 stories for areas ranging from 1,500and 3,000 square meters, 8 stories for areas ranging from 3,001 to 5,000 square meters, and 10 stories for areas ranging from 5,001–7,500 square meters, and 12 stories for areas exceeding 7,500 square meters. The permitted building coverage ratio was also set at between 50 % and 35 % of thetotal area.
Targeted Projects
The Ministry clarified in the decision that the intended uses for distinctive projects are private hospitals and clinics, as well as hotels, furnished apartments, and commercial and administrative centers, which are defined in the decision as projects with a distinctive urban character and for the region and the city, located within the city’s urban area, and serving a broad segment of society. The aim is to encourage the public and private sectors to implement pioneering projects that serve small and medium-sized cities
The Ministry has also specified the requirements that must be met to permit construction in accordance with the heights set forth in the resolution. Among the most notable requirements is that the project site must be located on two streets, one of which must be a commercial street, with a width of at least 30 meters, a frontage of at least 40 meters, and a depth of no30 meters.
Freedom to merge rear lots
One of the advantages of the resolution is that it grants owners the freedom to incorporate rear lots in cases where the required depth of 30 meters is not met, provided that the approved height for the rear lots is applied and the buildings are (original architectural treatment) in a manner that takes into account the character of neighboring areas and provides parking spaces in accordance with the rates and standards of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, as outlined in the decision. In this decision, the Ministry emphasized that when preparing the indicative plan (detailed local plan) for the targeted cities, these requirements must be studied, evaluated, and amended if necessary.
Encouraging Capital Investment
According to experts in real estate and local development, this decision is expected to have a positive impact on all targeted cities and governorates, which will help encourage capital to invest in distinctive projects, particularly in cities and governorates near and surroundingmajor cities, given the urban expansion of those cities and the rising prices of land designated for investment there. This will also lead to a change in building patterns and an increase in building density limits, thereby reducing costs for investors and increasing opportunities for optimal land use, and lower the cost of service delivery.
Added Value
Furthermore, allowing for multiple stories has a number of benefits and advantages in terms of accommodating population density Therefore, many investors prefer to approve multi-story construction to add value to the land and achieve viable investment returns if it is developed into residential apartments, and allowing for an increase in the number of stories must be accompanied by a system that provides parking within those neighborhoods, because we need to allow for multi-story construction in certain neighborhoods, and when planning multi-story residential investment neighborhoods, sufficient parking spaces and parks must be provided to eliminate the negative consequences that may arise from adopting this system before they escalate and become impossible to remedy in the future Furthermore, mixed-use development will help provide housing that caters to the largest segment of Saudi society—young people. Another benefit is that it will reduce construction costs and commuting expenses from home to work due to the reduction in urban sprawl, Allowing multi-story construction helps provide a greater number of housing units as this has become a necessity that requires planning studies to determine how to initiate and implement it, and this will have a positive impact on the end user, who will be able to obtain an apartment—whether for ownership or rent—at lower prices, Furthermore, taller buildings will give cities a distinctive architectural character if they are constructed according to a modern design vision, while taking into account the provision of additional parking spaces to prevent congestion.
