The Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the Ministry of Housing announced that the issuance or renewal of work permits will be linked to the registration of residential lease agreements on the “Ejar” network, as part of efforts to implement the National Transformation Program by coordinating efforts and finding innovative solutions that contribute to creating a suitable environment.
This linkage between the two ministries comes in accordance with the Cabinet’s decision dated 16/5/1438 AH, which required the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to mandate the existence of a lease agreement registered on the “Ejar” network for the issuance or renewal of work permits.
The two ministries agreed that full implementation of the integration process will begin in early September, with the first phase—linking the registration of lease agreements on the “Ejar” network to the renewal of work permits—to begin, accompanied by a joint awareness campaign for the target groups to ensure the project’s success.
This agreement between the two ministries aims to ensure that expatriates register their lease agreements on the network, which enhances the services provided and contributes to the advancement of digital transformation.
The Ministry of Housing is working to develop the Kingdom’s rental sector in a balanced manner by finding sustainable solutions to the challenges of the real estate market, while protecting all parties involved in the rental process and safeguarding the rights of tenants as consumers, landlords as investors, and real estate brokers—the key drivers of the rental process— with the aim of upgrading services in the real estate rental sector, which includes a suite of integrated e-services that will help foster transparency, trust, and impartiality in the rental sector.
The integration agreement provides numerous benefits to users of the electronic rental services network, such as access to e-services linked to relevant authorities. The Ministry of Housing has also provided several services to ensure that documentation is processed on the “Ejar” network, including the “Real Estate Brokers,” which allows tenants and landlords to find the address of the nearest real estate broker accredited by “Ijar.” The Ministry of Housing is also working to launch several other features.
Through the National Transformation Programs at the Ministry of Housing, the Kingdom seeks to facilitate the housing rental market by establishing an electronic platform in the form of the “Ejar” program, in addition to improving the services provided to beneficiaries, including citizens and residents.
It is worth noting that the “Ejar” program was officially launched on February 12, 2018, in implementation of the Cabinet’s decision dated (3/4/1435 AH), which mandated the establishment of an electronic network for rental services to facilitate and document rental transactions and strengthen trust among the parties involved, and to record the mutual obligations between landlords, tenants, and real estate brokers in the rental housing sector.
