Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council has called on the Kingdom’s Real Estate General Authority “to coordinate with the relevant authorities to study its proposal allowing non-resident foreign individuals to own real estate in Saudi Arabia amid specific controls,” the local Saudi Gazette reports.
Saudi real estate law is generally more complicated than in other nations. According to Al Tamimi law firm, GCC nationals and GCC companies (with shareholders who are all GCC nationals) “have certain rights to own land, subject to a number of restrictions. A GCC company or a GCC national may lease or purchase land to use it to conduct any licensed business activity from the land, and may own residential properties in Saudi Arabia, except for properties within the vicinity of Mecca and Medina.”
Foreigners (being non-GCC nationals or companies who are not 100 percent owned by GCC nationals) also have certain rights to own land and property in Saudi Arabia, but obtaining this property requires extra hurdles. Per Al Tamimi, the Foreign Ownership of Real Estate Regulation law of 19 July 2000 “regulates the acquisition by foreign, non-GCC nationals, of real estate in Saudi Arabia. Under this regulation, the ownership and investment in real estate by a foreign investor is permitted, subject to obtaining a foreign investment licence from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (‘SAGIA’).”
No further elaboration was provided in the Saudi Gazette article regarding which “certain controls” may be put in place.
According to the story, the Shoura Council called on the authority “to strengthen the supervisory role in all of its work so that it can follow up on compliance with the rules and standards it has set for the real estate activities.”
The Shoura Council also “urged the authority to coordinate with the concerned authorities to ensure stability in the real estate sector and reduce risks that may occur in the real estate market.”
