In the presence of more than 200 real estate developers and property owners, as well as a number of officials from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Engineer Mohammed Al-Madiheim, General Supervisor of Vacant Land Fees at the Ministry of Housing, confirmed during the introductory meeting with the Owners” Union held in the Business Owners” Hall at the "Jeddah Chamber of Commerce" today, that the collection of fees on undeveloped land will apply to all plots covered by the regulations without exception, including land owned by subsidiaries of banks and real estate finance companies, noting that the goal of imposing the fees is to increase the supply of developed land to achieve a balance between supply and demand, provide residential land at affordable prices, and protect fair competition while combating monopolistic practices.
Al-Madiheim denied the existence of any exceptions in the application of the "white land" fees following the Cabinet’s approval of the executive regulations and the actual start of the inventory of lands subject to the system, The Ministry called for the prompt electronic registration of data for those subject to the regulations during the first phase, which will continue until the coming month of Rabi" al-Awwal 1438 AH, to avoid them being subject to fines, noting that future phases will cover all Saudi cities.
The General Supervisor of Unregistered Land Fees explained that, while preparing the executive regulations, they were keen to bridge the gap between supply and demand in a gradual and smooth manner, given a wide range of challenges—most notably the lack of information and data regarding land and land ownership, and the procedures associated with land development and construction, as well as understanding the potential outcomes of imposing fees on white land. He noted that they received support from relevant government and private entities, which helped them overcome all these challenges.
The General Supervisor of Vacant Land Fees at the Ministry of Housing reviewed the stages of work on preparing the regulations, the mechanism for their implementation, and the targeted scope in each of the three designated cities—Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam— He confirmed that the target areas in Makkah and Madinah will be announced in the middle of Rabi’ al-Awwal, emphasizing that the main objective is to ensure every citizen has their own home by increasing supply and reducing unit prices, and to gradually implement the fees to help increase the supply of land, thereby contributing to lower housing prices and making housing accessible to all segments of society.
For his part, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Engineer Muhyiddin Hakami, emphasized the importance of the decision to apply fees on undeveloped land in the housing sector, as it will incentivize many developers to begin constructing numerous residential units, which will help increase the supply of housing and, consequently, help solve housing problems and raise the homeownership rate among Saudis. He emphasized that “the Jeddah Chamber” is playing its part in explaining the new system and its implementing regulations through a series of workshops and meetings organized by a number of sectoral committees serving the housing and real estate sector within the Chamber.
