Rental Claim

A rental claim is a lawsuit brought by one party to a lease (landlord or tenant) against the other to enforce a right arising from the tenancy, such as unpaid rent, eviction, termination, compensation for damage, or return of the security deposit. In Saudi Arabia a claim is not filed “in Ejar”, as is often assumed: Ejar is a documentation and payment platform supervised by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), while lawsuits are registered electronically through the Ministry of Justice’s Najiz platform before the competent court under the Law of Civil Procedure. Saudi practice distinguishes two routes. A unified lease documented on Ejar is an executive instrument under Council of Ministers Resolution No. 292 dated 16/5/1438H, so the creditor can file an execution request directly with the Execution Court for rent that is due or for eviction, without a substantive lawsuit. Substantive disputes — the rent amount, whether a termination was valid, or compensation — go to the General Court. Under the same resolution, a lease not registered on the electronic network is not treated as a valid contract producing administrative and judicial effects. Getting the route right matters. The speed often attributed to rental claims mostly comes from the execution route; a substantive claim follows ordinary procedural timelines (at least eight days’ notice to attend before the General Court and a 30-day window to challenge the judgment). Under the Civil Transactions Law, a claim for rent is not heard against a denying debtor once five years have passed from the due date, and judicial costs, capped at 5% of the claim value, are generally borne by the losing party.