Saudi Ministry of Housing has intensified inspections of real estate brokerage offices in Jeddah and other cities across the kingdom to check compliance with the new rental agreement system, Ejar, said a report.

Ejar was introduced to bring transparency in the residential sector and protect the rights of tenants at all stages of the rental process, reported the Saudi Gazette.

The new system would help end tenancy disputes after the Ministry of Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Housing announced their plan to link the renewal or issuance of work permits with the authentication of house rent contracts in the Ejar network, stated the report citing experts.

Following the inspections, many real estate offices in Jeddah. mainly dominated by Sudanese expatriates, have downed their shutters. Others are working to install Ejar system software to avoid heavy penalties, stated the report.

The fee for the registration of a house rent contract is SR250 ($67 million) as fixed by the Ministry of Housing. However, many real estate offices are charging a higher amount, according to sources.

The new system enables authorities to check the real estate market conditions where landlords are bound to fulfill some of their basic obligations such as paying Zakat, reported the Saudi Gazette.

In addition, the system prevents landlords from illegally converting bigger flats into smaller housing units.

It will also ensure that the accommodation is properly maintained. There have been cases where workers lost their lives in fire mishaps that occurred in unauthorised accommodations, it added.

 

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