Can a landlord enter a rented apartment without the tenant’s permission?

The lease provisions of the Civil Transactions Law, issued by Royal Decree M/191 dated 29/11/1444H (Articles 407 to 450), set out both parties’ obligations and contain no provision giving the lessor a right to enter, visit or inspect the unit. Instead, the law requires him to let the tenant use the property until the term ends (Article 416) and to refrain from interfering with that use; interference by anyone acting under him counts as his own (Article 423). These rules apply across the Kingdom.

The tenant may not prevent the lessor from carrying out necessary repairs to preserve the property if the lessor informed him a reasonable time before starting; if the repairs disrupt the tenant’s use, he may ask for termination or a rent reduction (Article 434).

Under the unified residential lease, the tenant may not prevent the lessor from urgent repairs needed to preserve the unit, provided the lessor produces a report proving the need. Neither the law nor the published template sets a number of days for the advance notice.

Both parties record the unit’s condition at move-in and move-out using Ejar’s receipt and handover form, which must be filled in within 7 days or counts as implied approval that the unit is in good condition. Either party may ask Ejar for an accredited assessor to complete the handover.

If the lessor’s interference deprives the tenant of the use of the property in whole or in part, the tenant may ask for termination or a rent reduction, without prejudice to his right to compensation (Article 423). The unified lease lets the harmed party terminate by a court judgment if the other party does not remove the harm within 30 days of the breach, after a notice sent through Ejar. These claims go to the General Court through Najiz, or to the Saudi Real Estate Arbitration Center if both parties have agreed to arbitration.