The Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing has launched, via the Baladi platform, electronic building permit services. The platform provides key building permit services, such as: issuing new building permits, renewals, renovations, and building occupancy certificates, among others, to streamline construction procedures, achieve digital transformation in municipal services provided to the Kingdom’s cities, and improve performance indicators in international competitiveness reports; all with the aim of enhancing the user experience in service delivery.
Efforts in this service are integrated with the Royal Commission for Urban Development and government service providers, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Energy, and the General Directorate of Civil Defense, as well as private-sector service providers, such as: the National Water Company, the Saudi Electricity Company, and Malath Insurance Company; to achieve integration in technical connectivity and electronic verification of submitted documents, which saves beneficiaries time and effort and also streamlines procedures related to these entities.
It should be noted that issuing a building permit through the “Baladi” platform requires contractors to provide an insurance policy covering hidden defects for commercial and mixed-use residential buildings, and the submission of such insurance for residential buildings has been mandatory since July 1, 2021.
The building permit also requires compliance with the Saudi Building Code, which is characterized by modern engineering standards that establish criteria for safety, protection, and health standards; this is to ensure quality of life, allowing applicants to obtain a building permit through specialized engineering firms that hold a classification certificate listed on the “Baladi” platform.