{"id":105989,"date":"2026-06-16T11:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T08:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amlak.net.sa\/?p=105989"},"modified":"2026-06-16T11:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T08:01:21","slug":"%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%83%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amlak.net.sa\/en\/105989\/","title":{"rendered":"The Residential Rental Market in Saudi Arabia: Expectations vs. Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amid the rapid economic and social transformations taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there is Residential Rental Market<\/a><\/strong> Unprecedented growth. As the number of professionals and expatriates moving to work in major cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah continues to rise, a clear gap is emerging between what tenants \u00abexpect\u00bb and what the market \u00abactually\u00bb offers. This article is a constructive call to raise awareness about improving residential rental standards, in a way that benefits both landlords and tenants alike and enhances the quality of life in our cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abThe White\u00bb Apartment: The Dilemma of Air Conditioners and Kitchens<\/strong>
Today, it is very rare for a tenant in the Saudi market to find an apartment or residential unit for rent that includes air conditioners or a fully equipped kitchen. The reality is that tenants are handed completely empty \u00abbare walls\u00bb: no air conditioners, no kitchen cabinets, no water heater, and sometimes not even lighting.

This reality raises fundamental logical and practical questions:
How can a tenant be expected to bear the cost of installing air conditioners and customizing the kitchen in an apartment that he doesn't own?
What will happen to this expensive equipment when the lease ends and you move to another apartment that may not fit the dimensions of your old kitchen?
Who bears the cost of the damage and repeated repairs that occur with each new tenant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Actual Cost to the Tenant<\/strong>
When calculating the actual cost of furnishing an empty apartment with the basics in the Saudi market, we find that Tenant <\/a><\/strong>The initial capital cost is approximately 25,000 riyals, broken down as follows:
When this cost is spread over a typical lease term (two years), we find that the tenant\u2019s actual monthly cost exceeds the advertised rent by more than 1,000 riyals per month. This means that the \u00abcheap\u00bb apartment isn\u2019t actually cheap when all costs are taken into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furnished Units and Expat Expectations
<\/strong>As the recruitment of foreign talent increases under Vision 2030, we must understand the expectations of this important demographic. Foreign tenants arriving on an employment contract often expect to find fully furnished (turn-key) housing options, just as they would in their home country or in other global markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gap Between Expectations and Reality<\/strong>
In most developed global markets, expats find a wide variety of fully furnished apartments, ready for immediate occupancy with just a single suitcase. In the Saudi market, however, the reality is quite different: foreign tenants are forced to furnish their apartments entirely from scratch, which poses a significant financial and logistical burden, especially for those with short- or medium-term employment contracts (one to three years).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact on Market Attractiveness<\/strong>
This situation negatively affects the Kingdom\u2019s competitiveness in attracting talent compared to Dubai, Singapore, or London, where expatriates can easily find comprehensive housing options. Providing fully furnished, high-quality housing options will enhance the appeal of the Saudi real estate market and make it easier for talented professionals to settle in, which will have a positive impact on the national economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Regional Best Practices: What Does \u00abUnfurnished\u00bb Mean?
When looking at neighboring regional markets, we find that the concept of an \u00abunfurnished apartment\u00bb differs radically from what is prevalent in the Saudi market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dubai Model: The Regional Standard
<\/strong>In Dubai, unfurnished apartments typically come equipped with:
Built-in Central Air Conditioning (Central AC)
Wall-mounted kitchen cabinets with a sink and built-in oven.
Built-in wardrobes
Central water heater.
Basic lighting equipment.
A \u00abfurnished\u00bb apartment, on the other hand, includes: a full set of furniture, major appliances (refrigerator, washing machine), and sometimes kitchen utensils and curtains. The difference in rent between furnished and unfurnished apartments ranges from 20% to 30%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women Workers' Rooms and Drivers' Rooms: Impractical Designs<\/strong>
One aspect of residential unit design that needs to be reconsidered is the layout of rooms for domestic workers and drivers. Current designs in many projects result in rooms that are uncomfortable and impractical, which negatively affects the quality of life for all residents of the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women's Restrooms: An Annoying and Uncomfortable Design<\/strong>
In many contemporary residential designs, the domestic worker\u2019s room and its private bathroom are integrated into the kitchen space. This design poses two major and serious problems:
First, an uncomfortable environment: the room\u2019s location within the kitchen means constant exposure to heat, odors, and noise, making it difficult to feel comfortable there and affecting the quality of sleep and relaxation.
Second, serious health risks. Having a bathroom that opens directly onto the food preparation area poses a significant health risk to all family members.
From a public health and food safety perspective, international standards clearly highlight the risks associated with this design:
Cross-contamination: Bacteria are transferred from bathroom surfaces to kitchen surfaces through the air, hands, and shoes. .
Sewage gases: When sewer lines are shared or ventilation is inadequate, harmful gases can seep into the food preparation area. .
Humidity and Mold Growth: Steam from the bathroom increases humidity in the kitchen area, creating an ideal environment for mold and fungi to grow. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Office Kitchens as a Related Topic<\/strong>
This health issue is not limited to the residential sector alone. In many office buildings, we find that coffee and food preparation areas (pantries) are designed to be adjacent to restrooms, sometimes sharing the same wall and opening onto the same narrow hallway. This design is common due to the desire to reduce plumbing costs and consolidate them into a single \u00abwet zone,\u00bb but it comes at the expense of users\u2019 health and violates basic health and safety standards.

Driver's Cabins: Cramped and Uncomfortable<\/strong>
Driver's quarters are often located on the ground floor or in the basement, and frequently lack even a minimum level of comfort: insufficient natural ventilation, no natural light, very cramped space, and sometimes no windows at all\u2014this situation makes the room uncomfortable and unsuitable for comfortable use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saudi Building Code (SBC) clearly stipulates specific standards for any room suitable for habitation:<\/strong>
Minimum area: 6.5 square meters.
No side of the room may be less than 2.1 meters.
A window is required to provide ventilation and natural light
The driver's cabin door and window must open onto the courtyard of the residential villa.
Any discrepancy between reality and the code is usually due to developers manipulating the system and circumventing the rules.

Opportunities for Developers
If developers and property owners in Saudi Arabia adopt the \u00absemi-furnished\u00bb model (providing only air conditioners and a kitchen), they will reap multiple benefits:
Rent out the unit faster and reduce vacancy periods.
Request a higher rent that will cover the cost of the equipment within a few years.
To protect the property's infrastructure from damage caused by repeated disassembly and reassembly.
The cost of equipping the unit with the basics (approximately 25,000 riyals) can be recouped in just 18 to 24 months through a reasonable monthly rent premium, after which it becomes additional net income for the owner throughout the equipment\u2019s useful life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/strong>
Improving the residential rental market does not require complex, radical changes, but rather a shift in investment and design mindsets. What is needed can be summarized in three pillars:
First,<\/strong> Adopt a \u00absemi-furnished\u00bb model as a minimum standard: provide air conditioners, a kitchen, and a water heater as essential components of the rental unit. This protects the property, increases rental income, and speeds up the leasing process.
Second,<\/strong> Improving the Design of Domestic Workers\u2019 Rooms: Designing comfortable rooms with adequate space, separating them from the kitchen, and ensuring natural ventilation and lighting. This meets health and safety standards and enhances the quality of the real estate product.
Third,<\/strong> Expanding the fully furnished unit segment: to meet the growing demand from foreign professionals and independent young Saudis, thereby enhancing the market\u2019s competitiveness in the region.
We have a golden opportunity to adopt regional and international best practices and deliver a real estate product that lives up to the aspirations of Vision 2030 and strikes the ideal balance between the developer\u2019s return on investment, the tenant\u2019s comfort, and the quality of life for all residents of the unit.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading time: <\/span> 4<\/span> Minutes<\/span><\/span>Amid the rapid economic and social transformations taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the residential rental market is experiencing unprecedented growth. As the number of professionals and expatriates moving to work in major cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah increases, a clear gap is emerging between what tenants \u00abexpect\u00bb and what the market \u00abactually\u00bb offers. This article is a constructive call to raise awareness and improve residential rental standards, by \u2026 Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":104599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions-and-analyses"],"acf":{"amlak_post_excerpt":"\u0625\u0630\u0627 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