Studio
Synonyms: Studio Apartment، Studio Flat، Bachelor Apartment، Efficiency Unit
Last updated: 2026-10-05
Short Definition
A studio is a small residential unit in which living and sleeping are combined in a single main room, with a separate bathroom and a small kitchen or kitchenette, suited to a single person or a couple; it is usually the smallest and least expensive unit type in a building.
Overview
Legal Basis
There is no studio-specific law, so the rules for residential units apply: the lease provisions of the Civil Transactions Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/191) dated 29/11/1444H, documentation on the Ejar platform under REGA's supervision, and the residential lease exemption in Article 30 of the Implementing Regulations of the VAT Law (M/113) dated 2/11/1438H, which excludes serviced and temporary accommodation. If offered for nightly tourist stays, it falls under the Tourism Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/18) dated 26/1/1444H and the Private Hospitality Unit Regulation published in the Umm Al-Qura Gazette on 11 September 2026.
Practical Example
Khalid works for a company in Riyadh's business district and rented a furnished 38 m² studio for SAR 30,000 a year, paid in monthly instalments of SAR 2,500, under a lease documented on Ejar for SAR 125 per year and without VAT; an inventory listing the bed, fridge and washing machine and their condition was attached to the lease. For comparison, the alternative was a licensed hotel apartment at SAR 250 a night, i.e. SAR 7,500 for thirty nights plus 15% VAT (SAR 1,125), or SAR 8,625 a month. A year later the owner wanted to offer the studio for nightly stays on booking platforms and learned that this requires a private hospitality unit licence from the Ministry of Tourism, and that platforms have not listed unlicensed units since 1 January 2025.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Offering a studio for nightly stays on booking platforms without a Ministry of Tourism permit — since 1 January 2025 platforms are required not to list unlicensed units.
- ✗Adding VAT to the rent of a studio let as a home — residential rent is exempt; serviced and temporary visitor accommodation is what is taxed.
- ✗Relying on a paper contract or verbal agreement for a monthly let without documenting it on Ejar — both parties then lose the protection and executive force of the unified lease.
- ✗Letting a studio furnished without a signed inventory of furniture and appliances and their condition — making damage claims hard to prove at move-out.
- ✗Calculating yield on the basis of full occupancy all year — studios see higher tenant turnover and vacancy periods that should be factored in.
International Differences
The studio is a housing type found in dense cities worldwide under different names: 'studio apartment' in most markets, 'bachelor' or 'efficiency' in some North American cities, and '1+0' in Turkey, where units are classified by their number of rooms and living rooms. In the UAE, studios are very common in residential towers and their leases are registered in each emirate's local system. Many countries restrict short-term letting of residential units; in Saudi Arabia a studio let as a home is treated like any apartment, while letting it nightly to tourists requires a Ministry of Tourism permit.
