The “White Land” program announced that it has registered two plots of land in Jeddah Province with a total area of 15.3 million square meters, after noting that they had not been registered in the system during the first phase, which focuses on undeveloped “raw” land with an area of 10,000 square meters or more, located within the announced scope in the cities where the system has been implemented.

The program clarified in a press release that for the lands it identifies and registers, —and not the owner—will be subject to a penalty for failure to register the land, in addition to the retroactive imposition of fees due on the land. This is part of the program’s goal to boost the supply of land in the real estate market and contribute to creating a balanced real estate market.

The program noted that many of the lands subject to fees have been developed in recent years in the targeted cities, emphasizing that the application of fees continues to achieve its objectives through the engagement of raw land owners in developing their properties, Furthermore, a portion of the revenues collected over the past period has been allocated to infrastructure development in a number of housing projects across various regions of the Kingdom, as stipulated in the executive regulations of the “White Land” program.

The program confirmed that the fees are not applied upon completion of land development with final approval of the plan, or upon construction within one year of the issuance of the payment order (invoice), with the aim of stimulating development, increase the supply of developed land, and achieve balance in the sector for the benefit of citizens.

It is worth noting that the program’s implementation has been divided into three phases following the Cabinet’s approval of amendments to the program’s regulations. The first phase covered undeveloped land with an area of 10,000 square meters or more owned by a single owner, while the second phase included developed land with an area of 10,000 m² or more owned by one or more owners, in addition to the total developed land owned by a single owner, with an area of 10,000 m² or more within a single approved plan. The third phase defined developed land with an area of 5,000 square meters or more owned by a single owner or a group of owners, and the total developed land owned by a single owner with an area of 10,000 square meters or more within a single city. All phases apply within the urban area defined by the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing. Details regarding the billing cycles for cities subject to the system can be viewed by visiting the following link (here)