Non-Saudi ownership fee
المقابل الماليA fee charged when a non-Saudi acquires real estate or a real right in one of the designated cities, introduced by the Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis. The Executive Regulations set the rate within a ceiling fixed in the law, and some transfers are zero-rated. The published rules do not say whether the buyer or the seller bears it, so write that into the contract.
Also called foreign ownership fee · Updated 8 July 2026
Looking this up because you mean to buy? Your next question is What will it cost?
Where you meet it
- Buying in your own nameHow a non-Saudi can own near the Haram
- After you ownHow to buy a property in Makkah or Madinah, step by step
- The non-Saudi ownership feeWhat it costs to buy in Makkah and Madinah
Sources
Gulf Business — REGA clarification · 8 Jul 2026
The non-Saudi ownership fee is set at 2% in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah under Executive Regulations Art. 9; the law caps it at 5%.Reported by Umm Al-Qura
Umm Al-Qura — Executive Regulations · 3 Jul 2026
Which party bears the 2% non-Saudi ownership fee is not stated in the sources reviewed.National Law Review — implementing regulations · 6 Jul 2026
Zero-rated cases for the non-Saudi fee include estate division, court orders, donations to the state or waqf, resale to the original owner within 180 days, co-owner partition, and developer unit sales within the licence period plus one year.
Where each fact above comes from, with the source’s own date where it gives one.