The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has released a draft of the executive regulations for fees vacant properties via the “Istisla” platform, inviting the public, interested parties, and relevant authorities to review the draft and submit their views and comments on it before it is approved in its final form, in line with the directives of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—may God protect him—aimed at regulating the real estate market and achieving a balance between supply and demand.

This step comes as part of the Ministry’s commitment to enhancing transparency and stakeholder participation in the development of regulations and legislation, thereby contributing to improving the quality of regulatory outcomes and achieving balance in real estate market.
The regulations aim to improve the efficiency of real estate asset utilization within urban areas by incentivizing property owners to operate or utilize their properties, thereby supporting an increase in real estate supply and contributing to market stability.
The draft included provisions for mechanisms to impose annual fees on vacant properties within specific cities and geographic areas to be announced later, in accordance with technical criteria that take into account market indicators, supply and demand levels, and vacancy rates.
The draft regulation also specifies the circumstances under which a property is subject to the fee, most notably if the building remains unoccupied for a specific period during the reference year, provided that it is usable or eligible for occupancy. It specifies that if a property subject to the fee has multiple owners, each owner is required to pay a portion of the fee proportional to their share of ownership.
The draft also included regulations on disclosing the status of properties, procedures for verifying occupancy, the mechanism for issuing fee invoices and methods of payment, as well as specifying the circumstances under which the fee is waived.
The Ministry invited all interested parties to visit the “Istisala” to review the details of the draft and submit their feedback within the specified period, emphasizing that public comments contribute to refining the regulations to achieve their objectives and enhance the efficiency of the real estate market.
The release of the draft regulations comes as part of the ongoing implementation of the amendments approved by the Saudi Cabinet to the system governing fees on vacant land and vacant properties; this strengthens the tools for regulating the real estate market and increases the efficiency of real estate asset utilization within urban areas, It also helps increase the supply of real estate, support market balance, promote fair competition, and curb monopolistic practices.