Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Saudi Arabia to Expand Rent Freeze Nationwide for Five Years — Real Estate Authority Confirms
The Saudi Real Estate General Authority announced plans to study expanding the five-year rent freeze regulations to cover all regions of Saudi Arabia, according to Al-Arabiya.net.
Tayseer Al-Mufarrej, the authority’s spokesman, said that the organization is closely monitoring real estate indicators in Saudi cities. The rent freeze will be applied based on market data and the results of monitoring in each city. The authority will also stabilize rent prices for vacant residential and commercial properties within urban areas of other cities. The authority is also studying new ways to regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants using real estate market data. Recommend: Foreigners to legally own property in Saudi Arabia, starting 2026
In Riyadh, the capital city, a set of new regulations was recently introduced to control rent increases. These include freezing rent hikes for five years, following the directives of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The goal of these measures is to stabilize the rental market in Riyadh and address the sharp rise in residential and commercial rents in recent years.
The new policy prevents annual rent increases for both existing and new property leases in Riyadh’s urban area for five years. This aims to reduce inflation and boost real estate supply. Al-Mufarrej said that this decision came after detailed studies of Riyadh’s rental market, aligning with the national plan to balance supply and demand and increase property availability.
He explained that the five-year freeze helps tenants keep stable rent prices and protects them from sudden increases. At the same time, it gives investors confidence to plan within a predictable and stable market environment.
Since the introduction of the rent regulations, the authority has detected several violations, according to Al-Mufarrej. These include requests to evict tenants, unauthorized rent increases, off-platform payments, and failure to register contracts through the Ejar platform.
Violators will face fines of up to 12 months’ rent of the total rental value. In addition, whistleblowers who report violations will receive a reward of up to 20% of the violation’s value. See Also: Saudi Arabia freezes rent hikes in Riyadh
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| Saudi Arabia to Expand Rent Freeze Nationwide for Five Years — Real Estate Authority Confirms |
