The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has reaffirmed that owners of undeveloped land subject to fees, allowing them to complete development work or sell the land in accordance with specific regulatory guidelines.
The Ministry clarified that granting the extension is contingent upon the existence of an actual development plan for the land, including a valid building permit, an approved master plan, contracts for infrastructure construction, or permits and contracts for off-plan sales, in addition to the existence of a licensed real estate contribution or any approved development plans.
Required Documents
It confirmed that the documents required to obtain the extension include valid building permits, approved plans, off-plan sales permits, and infrastructure construction contracts, with all documents required to be in order and valid at the time of submission.
The Ministry explained that the request for an extension is submitted via the official online portal by logging into the beneficiary’s account, navigating to the billing management service, selecting the "Request for an Additional Extension" option, completing the procedures, and attaching the required documents.
Applicants must also submit a timeline approved by an engineering firm detailing the project’s implementation phases; the timeline must be at least six months long to demonstrate the seriousness of the project’s implementation. Regarding the determination of the extension period, the Ministry clarified that the relevant committee evaluates requests based on several criteria, including land area, the nature of the project, the number of floors, and building areas, in addition to the approved implementation timeline.
Large Projects
It added that projects with a development period exceeding three years are referred to the Completion Center and the relevant authorities to study their feasibility and ensure their viability, while projects exceeding four years are required to submit an additional report from an accredited engineering firm detailing the stages of completion.
The Ministry confirmed that compliance during the grace period is monitored through periodic reports submitted by the supervising engineering firm every six months, which include the project’s actual completion rates. It noted that failure to comply with the implementation timeline within the specified period will result in the cancellation of the extension, unless justifications are provided within 60 days.
The Ministry emphasized that granting the extension does not mean that the issuance of annual fees will be suspended, confirming that the fees remain due for the entire period if the project is not completed within the specified extension period, Furthermore, the sale of the land is prohibited before its development is completed while the extension is in effect, and any invoices issued remain payable and non-cancellable.
The Ministry noted that these measures are part of its efforts to regulate the land market and stimulate the development of unused land within urban areas, thereby contributing to increasing the real estate supply, achieving market balance, and improving land-use efficiency in support of the Kingdom’s urban development goals.
