Glossary

Legal & Regulatory

39 terms in this category

Affidavit

Sworn written statement used in legal evidence, presented in real estate cases, accepted as evidence before judiciary.

Appeal

An appeal is the ordinary way of challenging a first-instance judgment before a court of appeal: the party against whom judgment was given, or whose requests were not fully granted, asks for the ruling to be reversed or amended, and the review may also end with the judgment being upheld.

Arbitration

Resolving dispute through private arbitrator issuing binding decision, faster than general courts, usually agreed upon in contract clauses.

Compensation

Monetary amount the breaching party is obligated to pay to compensate damage to other party, determined judicially or by agreement.

Compliance Officer

A compliance officer is the person within an organisation responsible for ensuring it complies with the laws, regulations and instructions that apply to its business, setting internal policies and procedures, monitoring their application and reporting to senior management and the authorities when needed.

Contract Clause

Specific text in contract regulating particular aspect of relationship, binding on both parties unless violating law or public order.

Contract Disclosure

Disclosure by one party to other of material information about property, hiding may void contract, like substantial defects or legal disputes.

Contract Interpretation

Determining intent of contract clauses when ambiguous, interpreted in favor of obligation bearer, considering parties' common intent.

Contract Novation

Replacing one contract party with new one by all parties' consent, voiding old contract and creating new, common in lease transfers.

Contract Validity

Availability of legal conditions for contract validity: consent, capacity, subject, cause, if any missing the contract is void.

Court Judgment

A court judgment is the decision a competent court issues on the merits of a case before it, settling the dispute between the parties and defining their rights and obligations; it is recorded in a judgment deed (sakk) stating the operative ruling and its reasons.

Damages

Damage to property caused by tenant, materially visible, accounted for from deposit or added to rent.

Dispute Resolution

Mechanisms for resolving disputes between contract parties, including direct negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation, chosen by dispute nature.

Entire Agreement Clause

An entire agreement clause is a contract term stating that the written contract, with its annexes, is the whole of what the parties agreed on its subject, and that it supersedes all prior negotiations, correspondence, promises and oral or written undertakings not included in it.

Eviction Procedure

Legal steps landlord follows to evict tenant, including notice and then an execution request via Najiz at the Execution Court, and the landlord may not evict by force without an Execution Court order.

Evidence

What is presented in dispute to prove facts, including contract, receipts, photos, witnesses, electronic correspondence, basis of ruling.

Execution Court

The Execution Court is the court responsible for the forced enforcement of judgments and other executive instruments; its execution judge issues and supervises enforcement orders and decides enforcement disputes without re-examining the underlying right recorded in the instrument.

Good Faith Clause

Clause obligating parties to deal in good faith during contract execution, fundamental principle assumed even if not expressly stated.

Governing Law

Governing law (applicable law) is the legal system that governs a contract’s interpretation, validity and effects and the settlement of disputes arising from it; it is usually fixed by an express clause in the contract.

Indemnification

Undertaking by one party to bear losses of other in specific cases, common clause in commercial contracts, protecting from potential liability.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the authority of a particular judicial body to hear and decide a specific dispute.

Landlord Obligations

Landlord's legal duties like delivering habitable property, maintaining structural parts, respecting tenant privacy, not breaching contract.

Legal Notice

Official notice sent through Notary Public to inform other party of claim or warning, preliminary step before litigation.

Legal Opinion

A legal opinion is a written assessment prepared by a licensed lawyer on a specific issue or transaction, setting out the applicable laws, the validity of the proposed act, the legal risks and recommendations, based on the facts and documents provided.

Legal Representation

Hiring a licensed attorney to represent a party in real estate disputes; not mandatory in rental disputes before the General Court, where a party may plead in person, but useful in complex cases.

Liability

Legal obligation for damages or losses, may be contractual from contract or tortious from negligence, requiring compensation.

Mediation

Resolving dispute with help of neutral third party proposing non-binding solutions, faster and cheaper than litigation, and based on both parties’ consent.

Normal Wear and Tear

Normal wear and tear is the gradual deterioration of a leased property that results from ordinary use consistent with the purpose of the lease and from the passage of time — faded paint, worn flooring along walkways, loosened hinges — without any misuse or negligence by the tenant.

Power of Attorney

Official authorization empowering one person to act on behalf of another, used in property management, sales, and rentals, authenticated by Notary.

Public Order

Legal principle making certain matters non-derogable, contract clauses violating public order are nullified.

Real Estate Due Diligence

Real estate due diligence is a systematic legal, technical and financial investigation of a property before buying, leasing or financing it, to confirm sound title free of encumbrances, compliance with permits and the accuracy of its financial information, and to uncover any risk that could affect its value or the buyer’s use of it.

Settlement

Amicable agreement between parties to end dispute with mutual concessions, enforceable as an executive instrument when its record is issued by an authorised body or approved by a court.

Severability Clause

Clause ensuring that nullifying part of contract doesn't affect remaining clauses, preserving full contract validity when one term invalid.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations (in Saudi terminology, the period after which a claim is ‘not heard’ because of the passage of time) is the legal period after which a court will no longer hear a claim for a right if the defendant denies it and invokes the lapse of time.

Tenant Rights

Tenant's legal rights including peaceful enjoyment, privacy, no arbitrary eviction, deposit refund, and property maintenance.

Void Contract

Contract producing no legal effect due to violating law or public order, considered as if it never existed, impossible to correct.

Voidable Contract

Originally valid contract that can be invalidated upon request by one party for some defect, like incapacity, duress, or fraud.

Waiver

One party giving up right in contract, must be explicit and clear, may be for compensation or without, documented in writing.

Witness

Person who witnessed the disputed event and provides testimony before judicial body, testimony considered legally valid evidence.