The new amendments to the system contribute to raising the efficiency of the use of unused land and buildings, providing the real estate supply in general and residential in particular. The directives of the Crown Prince, may God protect him, stipulated the issuance of the regulations for the white land system within (90) days from the date of publication of the system in the Official Gazette, and the regulations for vacant properties will be issued within a year from the date of publication, and this comes as an extension of the system of real estate legislation that contributes effectively to achieving the objectives of the vision and the initiatives and programs emanating from it, which aim to develop the legislative and regulatory environment for the real estate sector and keep pace with the economic and investment movement in the Kingdom.
The most prominent amendments to the real estate legislation come in the form of a number of amendments to the laws of the Kingdom. <The most prominent amendments came in the rate of fees, land areas, types of use, stages of application and its coverage of vacant properties, which the system defined as (buildings ready for use and prepared for occupancy within urban area and unused for a long time without an acceptable justification and whose non-use or non-exploitation affects the provision of sufficient supply in the real estate market), and the new amendments imposed fees on vacant properties within the approved urban area at a percentage of the similar rent (annual rent) not exceeding 5% of the value of the property as determined by regulations.
New amendments imposed fees on vacant properties within the approved urban area at a percentage of the similar rent (annual rent) not exceeding 5% of the value of the property as determined by the regulations. The amendments included raising the upper limit of the annual fee percentage not to exceed 10% of the value of the property, and reconsidering the areas on which the fee is imposed in white lands, provided that the area of land or total land within the applicable scope is not less than (5) thousand m2 as determined by the regulations.
The application of the fees comes after the application of the fees in the approved urban area at a rate of like-for-like (annual rent) not exceeding 5% of the value of the property in accordance with the regulations. The application of the fees will be fair and transparent based on unified and accurate databases as specified in the regulations, with clear mechanisms for objection and grievance, provided that the application of the system includes all regions of the Kingdom to represent an effective regulatory tool aimed at enhancing the sustainability of cities, reducing monopoly, and achieving the optimal use of land and real estate to serve both citizens and the market alike.
