Renting out your apartment to pilgrims

Renting out your apartment to pilgrims

Non-Saudi owners of a real estate unit can legally rent out their property to visitors under Article 5 of the Private Hospitality Unit Regulations. The Private Hospitality Unit Regulations entered into force on 11 September 2026 following publication in the official gazette. If you hold title to an apartment in Makkah (Mecca) or Madinah (Medina), you may apply for a licence to host paying guests under this framework. Many buyers from abroad purchase residential properties near the holy sites to perform worship and to support visiting family members. When you are not staying in the property yourself, offering short-term accommodation to pilgrims can generate income while keeping your asset occupied. Saudi rules establish an official licensing route that allows foreign titleholders to operate within a formal structure.

Eligibility for non-Saudi owners

Under Article 5 of the Private Hospitality Unit Regulations, non-Saudi individuals who own a real estate unit are eligible to apply for a private hospitality unit licence. This provision establishes that foreign ownership carries the right to request an official hospitality permit for the property. The applicant must be the registered owner of the specific unit named in the licence application. A buyer who acquires a flat in Makkah or Madinah can therefore seek formal authorisation to host paying guests. You cannot submit an application for premises that you do not own as a non-Saudi applicant. The Private Hospitality Unit Regulations took effect on 11 September 2026 after their formal gazette publication. Before this framework took effect, options for international owners to host visitors lacked a dedicated statutory path. The current regulatory system gives clear legal standing to non-Saudi property owners who wish to welcome pilgrims and tourists.

Permitted duration of stay

Short-term hosting under a private hospitality permit comes with clear constraints on how long any single visitor may remain. Under Article 11 of the Private Hospitality Unit Regulations, a private hospitality unit may provide paid accommodation to the same tourist for up to 29 consecutive days. This 29-day limit matches the usual profile of Umrah pilgrims and seasonal travellers visiting the holy cities. In addition to the limit on continuous stays, the regulations set a cumulative cap for repeat visits. Article 11 provides that total paid accommodation provided to the same tourist in the same unit cannot exceed 90 days during the licence validity period. If a guest stays for two weeks during Ramadan and returns later in the licence year, both bookings count towards the 90-day ceiling. Once a visitor reaches 90 days in your unit during that permit period, you cannot offer them additional paid accommodation under that licence. These limits confirm that the hospitality permit serves short-term stays rather than ongoing residential occupancy. Hosts must monitor guest calendars to prevent bookings that exceed either the 29-day unbroken limit or the 90-day cumulative limit.

Annual licence validity

A private hospitality unit licence does not grant indefinite operating rights. Under Article 8 of the Private Hospitality Unit Regulations, the validity period of the licence shall not exceed one year. Because the licence lasts for at most one year, property owners must treat compliance as an annual operational cycle. You will need to track the expiration date of your authorisation and prepare your renewal before the term lapses. Operating a rental property after the one-year validity period expires breaches the hospitality framework. Annual licensing allows tourism authorities to confirm that the residential unit continues to satisfy official standards and safety expectations. For buyers living abroad, setting diary reminders for the annual renewal ensures continuous legal status for holiday lettings.

Licence caps in shared buildings

Many international buyers invest in apartments located within larger residential towers or apartment blocks. The Private Hospitality Unit Regulations address multi-unit buildings directly to balance hospitality activities with residential neighbourhood needs. Under Article 4 of the regulations, a single licensee may obtain at most three private hospitality unit licences within a single jointly owned property. This three-licence cap applies to the total number of permits issued to one individual or entity across that shared development. If you purchase five apartments within the same residential building, you can only licence three of them as private hospitality units. The remaining units cannot be operated under the short-term hospitality framework at the same time. You would need to use those extra units for private family residence or place them on standard residential tenancies. Investors building multi-unit portfolios should consider this restriction when selecting properties across different buildings rather than concentrating purchases in one complex.

Application and issuance fees

Applying for an official hospitality permit requires paying a government fee. Under the schedule of fees of the Private Hospitality Unit Regulations, the application fee for issuing a private hospitality unit licence is SAR 1,100. This SAR 1,100 fee applies per unit application submitted under the regulations. If you hold licences for three separate apartments within a shared building, each application incurs its own fee. Owners should include this administrative cost in their projected financial returns. When calculating net rental yields from visiting pilgrims, account for the SAR 1,100 fee alongside building service charges and routine maintenance. Budgeting for this fee helps you assess whether short-term pilgrim hosting or standard residential leasing delivers a better financial outcome.

Ordinary tenancies and Ejar registration

A private hospitality licence is not the only way to rent out your apartment in Saudi Arabia. If you prefer stable tenancy over short-term pilgrim turnover, you may let your property on a residential tenancy contract. Ordinary leases operate under tenancy rules overseen by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA). Every residential and commercial lease in Saudi Arabia, whatever its term, must be registered on REGA’s Ejar platform. Registration on Ejar is mandatory; without it, the lease contract is legally unenforceable. If a landlord refuses or fails to record the agreement, the tenant has the legal right to register the contract on Ejar directly. When a tenant registers the contract, the landlord has 60 days to object. An unenforceable contract means you cannot use official channels or courts to recover unpaid rent or enforce eviction conditions. Whether choosing short-term hospitality licensing or standard Ejar leasing, non-Saudi owners must adhere strictly to the applicable legal structure.

Managing your rental responsibilities

Choosing between short-term pilgrim hosting and standard residential letting depends on your personal usage plans and management capacity. If your family visits Makkah or Madinah regularly during peak pilgrimage seasons, the private hospitality licence offers valuable flexibility. You can reserve the flat for your own religious visits and host paying pilgrims during other periods. Remember that the 29-day single-stay cap and the 90-day annual cap per guest require active calendar management. You must also prepare to renew your permit within its one-year validity window and pay the SAR 1,100 application charge for each cycle. If you hold multiple properties, keep the three-licence cap per shared building in mind. Conversely, if you live far away and seek uninterrupted passive rent without hosting management, an Ejar-registered residential tenancy may prove simpler. Whatever path you select, securing proper licences or registrations protects your property rights and maintains legal compliance.

This is not legal advice. Rules change, and each fact above shows the date we last checked it. Speak to a licensed adviser before you commit money.