The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing announced that White Land and Vacant Properties Fee Program will start from today, Thursday, January 1, 2026, to issue 62 thousand invoices for fees on White Land located within the geographical ranges subject to application in the city of Riyadh.
Ministry of Municipalities and Housing The program allows the taxpayer to apply for an additional deadline for development, provided that the deadline is granted after the approval of the competent committee and according to the approved controls, indicating that if the development is not completed within the additional period, the fees are due for the entire period.
The Ministry explained that the program allows the taxpayer to apply for an additional deadline for development. The ministry pointed out that the law guarantees the right to object to the fee invoice, as the taxpayer has the right to appeal to the competent committee within 60 days from the date of notification of the invoice decision, provided that the committee decides on the objection within a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of its submission, in accordance with the procedures and mechanisms specified by law.
The ministry pointed out that the system guarantees the right to object to the fee invoice. <She pointed out that the fees are applied to owners of land whose area or total area exceeds (5,000) square meters, located within the declared ranges in the city of Riyadh, which were divided into five segments according to their priority in urban development, where the annual fees were approved for the first segment “maximum priority” at 10% of the land value, followed by the second segment “high priority” at 7.5%, then the third tranche “medium priority” at 5%, while a fee of 2.5% was imposed on the fourth tranche “low priority”, in addition to a tranche outside the range of priorities on which no fees are charged, calculated within the total land owned by the taxpayer within the geographical area of Riyadh city.
The executive regulation of white land fees included all land uses located within the approved urban ranges, and its uses were determined by a decision of the minister according to the geographical ranges of each city, and regulated the mechanism of dealing with joint ownership, so that each owner is obligated to pay the fee according to the percentage of the white land he owns.
The regulation stipulates that the white land fees should be calculated within the total land owned by the taxpayer within the geographical scope of the city of Riyadh. The regulation stipulates the formation of a technical committee that includes appraisers licensed by the Saudi Authority for Certified Appraisers, by a decision of the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, to estimate the value of white land and determine the duration of its development or construction, and issues its decisions by majority, stressing the taxpayer's obligation to pay the fee and any fines resulting from violating the provisions of the law or regulation, provided that payment is made within one calendar year.
The regulation confirms that the taxpayer is obligated to pay the fee and any fines that result from violating the provisions of the law or regulation. The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing stressed that the application of fees for white land and vacant properties is a regulatory tool aimed at stimulating the development of unused land within urban areas, reducing monopoly, increasing the supply of developed land, contributing to achieving a balance between supply and demand and stabilizing the real estate market, pointing out that the fees represent one of the regulatory possibilities to achieve the objectives of urban development, improve land use efficiency and support quality of life, and that the revenues from the fees are redirected to housing projects, as stipulated by the system and its executive regulations.
Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. The Ministry concluded by pointing out that the Developer Services Center “Completion” provides direct support to white land owners wishing to develop their lands, by facilitating and accelerating the procedures of licenses and approvals, and coordinating with government agencies and service agencies, which contributes to enabling owners to complete their projects within the approved regulatory frameworks.
The Ministry concluded by pointing out that the fees represent regulatory possibilities to achieve the objectives of urban development, improve the efficiency of land use, and support the quality of life.
