The Ministry of Housing reaffirmed its commitment to the previously set timeline for beginning the distribution of available housing subsidy programs to eligible recipients in all regions of the Kingdom, reiterating its commitment to serving citizens throughout the Kingdom and providing suitable housing to those who do not own it, noting that the distribution of housing projects across all regions will be carried out through a mechanism that ensures fairness and transparency for those who meet the eligibility criteria for housing subsidies.
Deputy Minister: We have not announced any figures regarding those eligible for housing support, except for what was previously announced in Jazan
The Ministry clarified that it is in the process of finalizing the verification and processing of applications in coordination with the relevant authorities,and by the end of this month, it will send text messages to all applicants whose applications have missing information or require corrections, so they can review them by logging into the Eskan portal at WWW.eskan.gov.sa, It added that, in the coming period, it will announce the start date for the distribution of housing subsidies in each region, along with the phases and mechanism of distribution, as well as the number of eligible recipients in the Kingdom as a whole and in each region, in accordance with the principle of transparency,This is in accordance with its previous announcement that the process would take place within seven months starting on May 6,1435 AH—the date on which the Eskan portal was launched for all citizens to submit their applications for housing support—so that, before the end of this year, the allocation phase for available housing units to eligible citizens can begin, and distribution can take place according to their priority scores across various regions of the Kingdom.
The Undersecretary for Studies and Planning, Engineer Muhammad Al-Zuma’i, the Ministry’s official spokesperson, clarified that the Ministry has not announced any figures regarding eligible applicants for housing support who applied through the “Iskan” housing support distribution portal “Iskan,“ with the exception of what was previously announced regarding the number of eligible recipients in the Jazan region—51,000—and that the figures regarding eligible recipients circulating in some media outlets are incorrect and not based on any official source from the Ministry.
He noted that the Ministry recently approved the executive regulations for the housing subsidy program after having presented them to citizens for feedback on the Ministry’s website as well as on the “Iskan” portal for receiving housing subsidy applications, which were the result of an extensive study conducted with the assistance of international consulting firms that took into account the composition of Saudi society, He denied recent reports claiming that the Ministry does not include social security beneficiaries in the housing support program, emphasizing that they have the right to apply to the Iskan program and are assigned priority points based on their financial, social, and personal circumstances, as detailed in the executive regulations for theHousing Support Regulation.
The official spokesperson confirmed that the Ministry of Housing has applied the eligibility mechanism and priority criteria to all applicants who meet the eligibility requirements stipulated in the Housing Support Regulation approved by the Council of Ministers on March 5,1435 AH, noting that the allocation process is conducted electronically through the “Iskan” portal with ease and convenience in all regions without any human intervention, thereby reinforcing the principles of transparency and fairness; and that applications remain open and uninterrupted for all those who meet the requirements.
He reiterated that the Ministry’s projects in all regions of the Kingdom are proceeding as planned, and that the Ministry will distribute ready-to-move-in housing units in the regions sequentially, as well as other offerings such as developed land, loans for purchasing ready-built units from the private sector, or building on land owned by citizens. Loans will be disbursed according to a specific mechanism that ensures a balance between supply and demand and prevents inflation in construction or purchase costs.
He noted that the Ministry of Housing has housing projects in all regions of the Kingdom, with work continuing on 60 projects currently under construction across all regions, totaling more than 60,000 housing units. Of these, the Ministry has taken delivery of 11 projects and is continuing to finalize 95 projects currently in the engineering design phase to be put out to bid and implemented.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Housing had exceptionally opened the portal for receiving housing support applications (WWW.ESKAN.GOV.SA) for residents of the Jazan region on 27/3/1435 AH, in implementation of the order of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques—may God preserve him—where applications were accepted based on eligibility and priority criteria.and the first batch of units was allocated and distributed to eligible recipients in the Jazan region on 20/8/1435 AH as part of the “Al-Yasmin Neighborhood” project in Abu Hajar, which is considered the first of the housing projects built by the Ministry.
Al-Zami’ confirmed that the distribution of housing units from the Ministry’s projects in Samtah, Sabya, Bish, and the King Abdullah Suburb will continue, as well as projects by the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Foundation for His Parents for Developmental Housing in Jazan, while work continues on infrastructure projects to provide developed land in accordance with the schedule set for each project.
