Idle land fees contribute to development of 162M sqm, back 121 housing projects

The Idle Lands Law, prior to the recently-introduced amendments, contributed to the development of more than 162 million square meters (sqm) and supported 121 residential projects in some areas Kingdom-wide.

The breakdown: 75 million sqm were fully developed, with 48 million others under-development and another 39 million sqm in circulation.

For more news and details on the projects

The idle land fees subsidized a total of 121 housing projects, of which 27 are in Riyadh, 17 in Asir, 16 in Eastern Province, and 14 in Makkah, as detailed in the table below:

According to Argaam’s data, the Official Gazette recently published details of the amended idle land fees regulation, which was earlier passed by the Saudi Cabinet.

The amendments included renaming the law to "The Idle Land & Vacant Properties Fees Law."

Article 4 of the amended regulation revises Article 3 to impose an annual fee of up to 10% of the land value will be imposed on undeveloped plots owned by natural persons or legal bodies, excluding state-owned properties.

The Minister of Municipalities and Housing will determine the areas and plot sizes subject to the fee. Eligible lands must not be smaller than 5,000 sqm, whether as a single parcel or combined holdings, in line with regulatory provisions.

Among the amendments a fee on vacant properties was introduced, set at a rate of up to 5% of the estimated rental value, also excluding government assets. The Cabinet reserves the right to increase this threshold to 10%, as referred to by the designated ministerial committee.