3-Month Grace Period for Implementing New Regulations
Riyadh Region Removes Non-Saudis from Real Estate Offices
Amlak - Report
In accordance with labor regulations and to promote Saudization, a committee comprising several government agencies—under the supervision of the Riyadh Region Emirate—has approved measures to address the situation at real estate offices; anyone caught engaging in real estate brokerage activities will be deported, similar to those working in the scrap metal sector, and real estate offices in Riyadh will be required to obtain a license from the Ministry of Commerce and the Riyadh Region Municipality, with all offices linked to the Shams system.

New Regulations
Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of the Riyadh Region, approved the new regulations, stipulating that the new instructions be published through the media and granting real estate agencies a three-month grace period from the date of the decision to allow agency owners to make the necessary arrangements during that time. The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce urged all stakeholders in the real estate sector to apply, implement, and comply with the new decisions.
The Riyadh Region Emirate spearheaded the regulation aimed at addressing the negative consequences resulting from the operations of real estate offices in Riyadh—namely, the practice of foreign workers acting as brokers in these offices, as well as the failure to monitor and register tenants’ names—by forming a committee comprising the following government agencies (the Riyadh Region Emirate, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Riyadh Region Municipality, the Riyadh Region Police, the Riyadh Region Criminal Investigation Department, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Riyadh Region Labor Office, and the Riyadh Region Passport Office) to study this issue, and this committee reached a number of recommendations that were approved and adopted by the Emirate of Riyadh, which stipulate the following:
1- Emphasizing the enforcement of regulations stipulating that work in real estate offices and the practice of brokerage in this field, in all its forms, shall be restricted to Saudis only; anyone caught working in this field shall be immediately deported to their home country, similar to those working in the scrap metal industry.
2- No real estate office shall be permitted to operate unless it holds a license from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Riyadh Region Municipality in accordance with regulations and instructions, and all offices must be registered in the Shams system.
3- Field teams shall be formed, headquartered at police stations, with membership comprising representatives from each police station, the neighborhood sub-municipality, and the neighborhood mayor. These teams will conduct field patrols, apprehend violators, and hand them over to the Passport Coordination Office to enforce the deportation penalty against them after drafting a report detailing the expatriate’s violation, which is signed by all team members, certified by the police chief, and submitted to the Emirate along with quarterly reports on the activities of these field teams and their achievements.
4- It has been observed that some real estate offices engage in fraud and circumvent the instructions prohibiting expatriates from working in real estate offices by adding other commercial activities to their real estate operations; Therefore, real estate agency owners are prohibited from adding any commercial activity other than real estate, so as to ensure there is no opportunity for expatriates to work in those offices.
5- The media will be notified that these instructions will take effect three months from the date of this announcement, to allow agency owners time to make the necessary arrangements during that period.
30,000 Real Estate Agencies
There are approximately 30,000 real estate agencies in the Kingdom, and the new regulations governing real estate offices require the employment of Saudis to manage these offices and eliminate the current trend of a high number of foreigners managing real estate offices in the local market.
The Shura Council recently approved the new regulations governing the operation of real estate agencies. Among the most notable provisions of the new regulations is the requirement that the owner of a real estate agency obtain a commercial registration specifically for real estate activities, and that the business be operated by the Saudi owner or manager of the agency, in addition to the requirement that the agency owner not have committed a crime involving a breach of honor or trust.