Amid the rapid economic and social transformations taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, residential rental market is experiencing unprecedented growth. As the number of professionals and expatriates moving to work in major cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah increases, a clear gap is emerging between what tenants «expect» and the «reality» offered by the market. This article is a constructive call to raise awareness about improving residential rental standards, in a way that benefits both landlords and tenants alike and enhances the quality of life in our cities.
The «White» Apartment: The Dilemma of Air Conditioners and Kitchens
Today, it is very rare for a tenant in the Saudi market to find an apartment or residential unit for rent that includes air conditioners or a fully equipped kitchen. The reality is that tenants are handed completely empty «white walls»: no air conditioners, no kitchen cabinets, no water heater, and sometimes not even lighting.
This reality raises fundamental logical and practical questions:
How can a tenant be expected to bear the cost of installing air conditioners and customizing a kitchen for an apartment they do not own?
What will happen to these expensive fixtures when the lease ends and the tenant moves to another apartment that may not fit the dimensions of the old kitchen?
Who bears the cost of demolition and repeated renovations with each new tenant?
The True Cost to the Tenant
When calculating the actual cost of furnishing a vacant apartment with the basics in the Saudi market, we find that the tenant bears an initial capital cost of approximately 25,000 riyals, broken down as follows:
When this cost is spread over a typical lease term (two years), we find that the tenant’s actual monthly cost exceeds the advertised rent by more than 1,000 riyals per month. This means that the «cheap» apartment is not actually cheap when all costs are taken into account.
Furnished Units and Expat Expectations
As the attraction of foreign talent increases under Vision 2030, we must understand the expectations of this important demographic. Foreign tenants arriving on an employment contract often expect to find fully furnished ("turn-key") housing options, just as they would in their home country or in other global markets.
The Gap Between Expectations and Reality
In most developed global markets, expatriates find a wide variety of fully furnished apartments, ready for immediate occupancy with just a single suitcase. In the Saudi market, however, the reality is quite different: foreign tenants are forced to furnish their apartments entirely from scratch, which poses a significant financial and logistical burden, especially for those with short- or medium-term employment contracts (one to three years).
Impact on Market Attractiveness
This situation negatively affects the Kingdom’s competitiveness in attracting talent compared to Dubai, Singapore, or London, where expatriates can easily find fully integrated housing options. Providing fully furnished, high-quality housing options will enhance the attractiveness of the Saudi real estate market and facilitate the settlement of talent, which will have a positive impact on the national economy.
Regional Best Practices: What Does «Unfurnished» Mean?
When looking at neighboring regional markets, we find that the concept of an "unfurnished apartment" differs radically from what is prevalent in the Saudi market.
The Dubai Model: The Regional Standard
In Dubai, an unfurnished apartment comes standard with:
Built-in central air conditioning (Central AC)
Kitchen cabinets with a sink and built-in oven.
Built-in wardrobes
Central water heater
Basic lighting fixtures.
A "furnished" apartment adds to this: a full set of furniture, major appliances (refrigerator, washing machine), and sometimes kitchen utensils and curtains. The difference in rent between furnished and unfurnished units ranges from 20% to 30%
Maids" and Drivers" Rooms: Impractical Designs
One aspect that needs to be reconsidered in the design of residential units is the placement of rooms for domestic workers and drivers. Current designs in many projects result in rooms that are uncomfortable and impractical, which negatively affects the quality of life for all residents of the unit.
Domestic Workers" Rooms: An Unpleasant and Uncomfortable Design
In many current residential designs, the domestic worker’s room and her private bathroom are integrated into the kitchen space. This design poses two serious problems:
First, an uncomfortable environment—placing the room within the kitchen area means constant exposure to heat, odors, and noise, making it difficult to relax and affecting the quality of sleep and rest.
Second, serious health risks. A bathroom that opens directly onto the food preparation area poses a significant health risk to all family members.
From a public health and food safety perspective, international standards clearly highlight the dangers of this design:
Cross-contamination: Bacteria are transferred from bathroom surfaces to kitchen surfaces via the air, hands, and shoes.
Sewage gases: When drainage lines are shared or ventilation is poor, harmful gases can seep into the food preparation area.
Moisture and mold growth: Bathroom steam increases humidity in the kitchen area, providing an ideal environment for mold and fungi to grow.
Office kitchens as a related topic
This health issue is not limited to the residential sector. In many office buildings, we find that coffee and food preparation areas (pantries) are designed to be adjacent to restrooms, sometimes sharing the same wall and opening onto the same narrow hallway. This design is common due to the desire to reduce plumbing costs and consolidate them into a single »wet zone," but it comes at the expense of users" health and violates basic health and safety standards.
Drivers« Rooms: Cramped and Uncomfortable
Drivers» rooms are often designed on the ground floor or in the basement, and frequently lack even the bare minimum of comfort: insufficient natural ventilation, no natural light, extremely cramped space, and sometimes no windows at all—a situation that makes the room uncomfortable and unsuitable for comfortable use.
The Saudi Building Code (SBC) clearly stipulates specific standards for any habitable room:
Minimum area: 6.5 square meters.
No side of the room may be less than 2.1 meters.
A window is required for ventilation and natural lighting.
The door and window of the driver’s room must open onto the courtyard of the residential villa.
Any discrepancy between reality and the code is often due to developers’ manipulation and circumvention of regulations.
An Opportunity for Developers
If developers and property owners in Saudi Arabia adopt the “semi-furnished” model (providing only air conditioners and a kitchen), they would achieve multiple benefits:
Faster unit rental and reduced vacancy periods.
The ability to charge higher rent that covers the cost of the fixtures within a few years.
Preserving the integrity of the property’s infrastructure from damage caused by constant removal and installation.
The cost of equipping the unit with essentials (approximately 25,000 riyals) can be recouped in just 18 to 24 months through a reasonable monthly rent premium, after which it becomes additional net income for the owner throughout the fixtures’ useful life.
Conclusion
Upgrading the residential rental market does not require complex, radical changes, but rather a shift in investment and design mindset. The requirements can be summarized in three pillars:
First, adopting a “semi-furnished” model as a minimum standard: providing air conditioners, a kitchen, and a water heater as essential components of the rental unit. This protects the property, increases rental returns, and speeds up the leasing process.
Second, improving the design of domestic workers’ quarters: designing comfortable rooms with adequate space, separating them from the kitchen, and providing natural ventilation and lighting. This meets health and safety standards and enhances the quality of the real estate product.
Third, developing the fully furnished unit segment: to meet the growing demand from foreign professionals and independent young Saudis, thereby enhancing the market’s regional competitiveness.
We have a golden opportunity to adopt regional and international best practices and deliver a real estate product that lives up to the aspirations of Vision 2030, striking the ideal balance between the developer’s return on investment, the tenant’s comfort, and the quality of life for all residents of the unit.
