The White Land Program has emphasized the need to register land located within the geographical boundaries of the city of Riyadh—whether in its first or second phase—before the statutory registration deadline of June 15, 2022, which is 60 days from now.
It clarified that all owners of white land located within the geographic boundaries of cities where white land fees apply are required to register their land through the online portal idlelands-services.housing.gov.sa, including owners of developed idle land in the city of Riyadh, before the statutory registration deadline for the second phase expires.
Based on the program’s regulatory and implementing regulations, landowners or their representatives are responsible for submitting the necessary documents and data and registering them within the statutory period, and if the land is identified by the program and registered, penalties and fines will be imposed on owners who fail to register.
The program noted that exemption from fees requires the land to be registered on the platform, followed by the submission of supporting documentation during the objection period after the invoice is issued. It clarified that the land fee invoice is issued in the name of the landowner based on data from the Ministry of Justice at the time of issuance; if ownership of the land is transferred after the invoice is issued, the original owner is obligated to pay the fees.
The program emphasized its role and contribution to increasing the real estate supply of developed land to achieve a balance between supply and demand, providing developed residential land at affordable prices, ensuring fair competition, and curbing monopolies—all of which help stimulate supply in the real estate sector.
It should be noted that the enforcement system for vacant land fee invoices came into effect in August 2020, which means that once white land fee bills are issued in final form, they must be paid, and the program has the right to resort to enforcement proceedings to collect the fees from the accounts or properties of the landowners.
