The Ministry of Housing has finalized the procedures for implementing the royal decree exempting housing-related projects from building regulations concerning the number of stories, setbacks, floor areas, and public services.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the Ministry explained that these procedures are intended to meet the needs of beneficiaries without compromising the security and safety requirements of these projects.
The Ministry indicated that the exemptions have been divided into six categories based on land area, starting with the category ranging from 10,000 square meters to 100,000 square meters, with an increase not exceeding 25%, and extending to the highest category for areas starting at 2 million square meters withan increase of up to 150%.
The Ministry of Housing clarified that one of the most important procedures to be applied for obtaining approval for these exemptions is that they are limited solely to housing-related projects, as specified in the Royal Decree, which requires determining the project’s location in relation to the city and the urban area, the site area, the identification of surrounding roads and streets and their widths, the project’s connection to public transportation networks, the land uses of the surrounding areas, and the submission of a detailed project plan outlining the project’s various uses (residential, public services, commercial uses supporting the project’s residents, streets and their widths, pedestrian walkways, parking lots, wadis and ravines if present on the site, … etc.), and building heights, which must be staggered and harmonize with the area surrounding the project, along with a clarification of the locations of entrances and exits to and from the project.
It noted that obtaining exemptions from the Ministry of Housing requires the preparation of a comprehensive traffic study to determine future traffic requirements within the project site and neighboring areas, obtaining the necessary approvals from relevant authorities, as well as submitting a hydrological study and flood drainage alternatives for the project site and a soil investigation report for the site.
