Real Estate Lawyers
We handle residential and commercial property transactions and disputes, from transfer and registration to title and lease litigation.
Overview
In a few short years Saudi real estate moved from a market run on personal trust and a paper deed to a regulated environment: electronic documentation, a real estate register, brokerage and tenancy regimes, and a transaction tax. Anyone still transacting with the pre-reform mindset runs into problems that are not always legal in nature — they are procedural — and they cost just as much.
We handle the legal side of buying, selling, developing and leasing: title and encumbrance checks before purchase, sale and promise-to-sell agreements, commercial and residential leases, construction and development contracts, and disputes over delivery, defects and eviction. Pre-purchase due diligence is the cheapest service we offer in this area and the one that saves clients the most.
Most property disputes that reach us could have been prevented by two questions asked before signature: is the seller the registered owner and is the property free of encumbrances? And does the contract define delivery, delay and specifications clearly? Whoever skips those questions pays far more later than the check would have cost.
The legal framework
Property work intersects with several regimes and authorities, and identifying the right forum is often half the answer:
- The Real Estate Registration Law, the real estate register, and the effect of registration on title
- The Civil Transactions Law on sale, lease and contractual liability
- The Real Estate General Authority and the brokerage and marketing regulations
- The Ejar platform for residential and commercial leases and their electronic documentation
- The real estate transaction tax and the exemptions available from it
- The rules on property ownership by non-Saudis and the geographic restrictions that apply
Situations we handle
Buying a building or a plot
Before any payment: verification of the deed, title, encumbrances, mortgages and municipal violations. The check takes days and prevents losses that run for years.
A long-term commercial lease
Term, renewal, escalation, eviction and assignment — clauses that occupy half a page and decide the fate of an entire business.
A developer delayed in delivery
We review the contract, the programme and the correspondence, then build the claim on documented delay rather than general impression.
Construction defects after handover
A contractor's liability for defects does not end at delivery. Early technical documentation by an independent report is what preserves the right.
A boundary or co-ownership dispute
Boundary and partition claims need a survey document before any pleading. We start from the plan and the deed, not from the oral account.
Costly mistakes we see
- 1
Paying a deposit before the check
Deposits are paid under time pressure; then a mortgage, restriction or title dispute surfaces. Recovering the money becomes a separate claim of its own.
- 2
A one-page sale contract
A short contract addresses neither delivery nor warranties nor the consequences of breach. It looks fast at signature and ends slowly.
- 3
Relying on the developer's verbal promise
Verbal variations and specifications bind no one. What matters is in the contract and its annexes; everything else is impression.
- 4
Not registering the lease
An unregistered lease weakens both parties on eviction or rent recovery and complicates enforcement later for no good reason.
How the procedure runs, step by step
Saudi real estate is governed by several overlapping regimes: the Real Estate Registration Law, the off-plan sales rules, and the Ejar system. Most losses happen before signature, not after.
- 1
Examine the title deed and the entries against it
We verify the deed in the real estate register: owner identity, boundaries, mortgages, attachments and pending claims. An undisclosed mortgage or attachment is the single most common way a buyer parts with the price for nothing.
- 2
Verify permitted use and licences
We match the intended use against the plan classification, the building permit and municipal conditions. A commercial building on residential land means demolition or a fine, and that liability passes to the buyer on transfer.
- 3
Draft the contract and allocate risk
The contract sets out the payment mechanism, transfer conditions, liability for latent defects, and the penalty for delay. In off-plan purchases we verify the project licence and the escrow account before any money moves.
- 4
Simultaneous transfer and payment
Electronic transfer of title is paired with payment through the approved bank intermediary. No full price is released before title passes, and no transfer is signed before the payment is documented.
- 5
Disputes after contracting
Lease disputes go through the Ejar committees and the Enforcement Court; ownership disputes go to the General Court. We ask for the claim to be annotated on the deed so the seller cannot deal with the property during litigation.
Documents we will ask you for
- A copy of the title deed or ownership document
- The building permit and site plan
- The current sale or lease contract
- Evidence of payment or bank transfers
- The owner’s ID or a valid power of attorney
- A technical survey report on the building, if any
Fees and timelines
Pre-purchase legal due diligence is offered at a fixed fee known in advance — typically a small fraction of the transaction value and of the cost of getting it wrong. Sale, lease and development contracts are priced per contract according to complexity, not by the hour.
On timing: documentary due diligence usually completes within a few working days. Contract drafting runs from three days to two weeks depending on negotiation. Property disputes before the courts typically take six months to over a year, particularly where engineering expertise or valuation is required.
Common questions
What should be checked before buying a property?
The seller's registered title, whether the deed matches the physical reality, any mortgage, restriction or attachment, municipal violations, and liabilities attaching to the property. Add to that the capacity of whoever signs: owner in person, or an agent under a valid power of attorney that actually authorises a sale.
Can a non-Saudi own property?
Ownership is possible in defined cases and under conditions that vary with the buyer's status, the purpose and the location, with particular restrictions in certain areas. The answer is case-specific and we verify it before you take on any commitment.
Who bears the real estate transaction tax?
As a rule it is due on the disposal under the regulations, with defined exemptions for certain transactions. What matters in practice is that the contract states expressly who bears it, because arguments about this after signature are more common than people expect.
What do I do if the developer is late delivering?
Start with a documented written notice identifying the delay and requiring performance within a stated period. The notice is not a formality; it is what a judge later relies on in awarding compensation or ordering rescission.
Can a defaulting tenant be evicted?
Yes, through the statutory route rather than self-help. A registered lease shortens the process considerably, while cutting utilities or changing locks turns the position against the landlord.
What is the difference between a promise to sell and a sale?
A promise to sell is an undertaking to conclude a sale later on defined terms; a sale transfers ownership in itself. Confusing the two leaves a buyer believing they own an asset when they hold only a right to claim.
Is the electronic deed enough to verify ownership?
It is the first step, not the last. We verify that the data matches, that the registration status is clean and that no dispute is pending, because a document that is correct on its face can conceal a different position on the ground.
How long does a property claim take?
Usually six months to more than a year, longer where the file is referred for engineering expertise or valuation. That is why we assess the value of settling before filing, rather than a year into the case.
Do you also review construction contracts?
Yes — payment schedules, delay penalties, variations, and handover and warranty terms. Those clauses are the source of most construction disputes, and reviewing them before signature costs less than arguing them afterwards.
Related services
Construction & Engineering Lawyers
We act for owners, contractors and consultants on project contracts and disputes.
Civil Litigation Lawyers
We represent individuals and companies in civil and commercial claims, with a candid assessment of prospects before any claim is filed.
Due Diligence Lawyers
We produce legal due diligence reports that surface risk before a transaction closes.