At its meeting midweek, after reviewing the regulations governing cases where tenants are absent or have absconded while owing outstanding rent and leaving the leased property locked, the Council of Ministers issued a number of measures, including:

1- Licensed real estate brokers are required to register all residential and commercial lease agreements electronically through the online network – approved by a Cabinet decision dated 3/4/1435 AH.

2- One or more committees shall be formed in each region or province, as appropriate– by a decision of the Minister of Housing, whose task shall be to handle cases where the tenant is a Saudi national unable to pay rent or vacate the property, whether due to imprisonment, illness, death, or financial hardship.

3- The Ministry of Housing shall prepare and implement a program to ensure support for citizens unable to pay rent, funded by allocations from the state budget, subsidies, donations, and endowments designated for this purpose.

Article (11) of the Real Estate Offices Regulation stipulates that anyone who violates the provisions of the Real Estate Offices Regulation shall be punished with one of the following penalties: A fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand riyals, closure of the office for a specified period not exceeding one year, permanent revocation of the office’s license, with penalties increasing in proportion to the number of violations.

These penalties apply to those who violate the Cabinet decision issued the day before yesterday, and licensed real estate brokers (real estate offices) are required to register all residential and commercial lease contracts electronically through the electronic network (Ejar).

This decision marks a new milestone in the Kingdom’s rental sector by requiring all real estate agencies to register with the “Ejar” network, which aims to regulate the residential rental sector by providing electronic services to all parties involved in the leasing process through its online platform, including: verifying the tenant’s identity; electronically notarizing the lease agreement so that the contract is enforceable in court; real estate brokerage services; details of the leased property; and electronic payment of rent in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The network will be operated by a company owned by the Ministry that is working to create a unified technological platform, through which the relationship between the landlord and the tenant will be regulated via the real estate broker.