Following the Cabinet’s decision to approve the Real Estate Registration System, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Real Estate Authority, affirmed that the issuance of the system is an extension of the attention and support the real estate sector receives in the Kingdom; with the aim of increasing the reliability of property ownership, enhancing the accuracy of real estate information, and to protect the rights of stakeholders in the sector, thereby achieving the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 programs regarding digital transformation, the development of real estate wealth, and the enhancement of the real estate sector’s investment appeal.

Al-Haqil emphasized that the role of the Real Estate Registration System is to unify oversight of real estate registration under a single authority in a simple and convenient manner, in accordance with international best practices, ensuring the accuracy of information and data for all types of real estate, and establishing a comprehensive real estate registry for all subsequent transactions following registration in the Unified Real Estate Registry.

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A Real Estate Registry That Tracks Changes to Property Descriptions

The real estate registration system includes a land registry that ensures new property owners are notified of all changes to the property description, such as construction, additions, or modifications, and the real property registry acquires absolute legal force one year after the date of publication of the owner lists, in addition to the creation of a registry linked to the real property records described on the map.

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Title Deed for Separated Units

The Real Property Registration System stipulates that each subdivided real property unit located within a jointly owned property shall have its own title deed, and the documents of co-ownership specified by the regulations must be registered in the Real Estate Registry; the competent authority shall establish a registry for the properties delineated on the map linked to the Real Estate Registry.

All transactions involving the properties described on the map shall be recorded in the Real Estate Registry in accordance with the law. The regulations shall specify the registration procedures, and the Registry shall issue a certificate to that effect. Such transactions shall not be effective and shall not produce legal or administrative effects unless they are so registered.

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30 Days to Transfer Data

The Real Property Registration System stipulates that the property owner must, within 30 days of the completion of the property as described on the map, submit a request to transfer the data contained in the register to the Real Estate Registry and obtain a title deed.

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The system specifies 5 cases

100,000 riyals fine for violations of the Real Estate Registration System

The Real Estate Registration System has identified five cases of violations or obstruction of the system’s implementation, punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 riyals, The new Real Estate Registration System replaces the Real Estate Registration System issued 20 years ago and repeals all provisions that conflict with it.

Violations of the system are defined as follows:

– Failure to disclose any documents or information necessary for the validity and integrity of the initial real estate registration procedures.

– Obstructing the work of the competent authority regarding real property registration procedures.

– Failure to report, as required by the regulation, any changes to the property description resulting from the construction, addition, modification, or removal of buildings.

– Failure to submit the application referred to in the regulation within the specified period; the property owner is required, within 30 days of the completion of the property described on the map, to submit an application to update the information in the real estate registry and to issue a title deed.

– Failure to submit the application for the first in-kind registration of the property within the application period specified in the regulation.