What is the Riyadh rent freeze and who does it cover?
Short answer
It is a ban on any increase in the total rent of residential and commercial leases, existing and new, inside the Riyadh urban area only, for 5 years starting 25 September 2025. A vacant unit that was let before cannot be re-let above the total rent of its last lease registered on Ejar unless the Real Estate General Authority (REGA) accepts the landlord’s objection, and for a unit never let before, the first agreed rent becomes its cap. Fines start at two months’ rent and reach 12 months’ rent, and the landlord must correct the rent.
What exactly is frozen?
The statutory provisions issued by Royal Decree M/73 dated 2/4/1447H forbid any increase in the “total rent”, meaning the property’s rent plus any other money the tenant pays the landlord under the lease; what counts is the total paid, not just the base rent.
- Leases in force on 25 September 2025 or signed after it; Ejar says the ban covers even an increase the parties agreed before the rules were issued.
- Short leases too: according to Ejar, the price cap covers all leases, unlike the other new rules, which apply only to leases longer than 3 months.
- Escalating-rent leases: the rent stays at the first agreed amount for 5 years, according to Ejar.
- In Riyadh, a rent-adjustment request at renewal on Ejar can only lower the rent.
Where does it apply and when does it end?
The freeze is limited to the Riyadh urban area and lapses 5 years after the provisions took effect on 25 September 2025; the text gives no other end date. The provisions do not list districts. Ejar says property addresses are governed by the ownership documents and that a landlord who shows a property as outside Riyadh to evade the rules bears the consequences of the details they declared. Replies from Ejar’s official X account have mentioned Diriyah alongside Riyadh (April and May 2026).
Vacant units and the landlord’s objection
According to Ejar, a vacant unit stays capped at its last registered lease even if the property is sold or given away. While the unit is vacant, the landlord may object to REGA through a request on Ejar, which REGA decides within 10 working days of it being complete, on two grounds set in the provisions plus any other cases REGA’s board decides:
- Major structural renovation that affected the rental value, with a structural renovation licence, a report from an accredited engineering office and an accredited valuer’s report.
- A last lease signed before 1 January 2024, with an accredited valuer’s report.
Fines and reporting a violation
The violations table approved by REGA’s board on 20/6/1447H (11 December 2025) fines raising the rent, and letting a vacant unit above its last lease, at two months’ rent for a first offence, six months for a second, and 12 months for a third or later one. The landlord must correct the rent within no more than 10 working days of being notified of the violation decision, failing which REGA may adjust it, and the harmed party can still claim compensation in the competent court.
Violations are reported through REGA’s approved electronic channels, and the reporter may receive up to 20% of the fine collected, subject to conditions that include a final decision confirming the violation.
Follow-up questions
Does the freeze apply in Jeddah or other cities?
No. The provisions limit it to the city of Riyadh, and Ejar describes it as a first phase. Extending it to all or parts of other cities requires a decision by REGA’s board after approval by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs.
How do I know the cap for my unit?
If you are a current tenant, the total rent may not rise above what is in your documented lease, which you can view from the contracts list in your Ejar account. For a vacant unit the cap is its last registered lease; if you suspect it is being exceeded, you can report it to REGA.
Can a landlord end the lease to re-let at a higher rent?
No. Once vacant, the unit stays capped at its last lease unless REGA accepts the landlord’s objection, and a Riyadh landlord may refuse a renewal the tenant wants only on specific grounds, such as the tenant failing to pay.
Official sources
- REGA: Statutory provisions regulating the relationship between lessor and lessee
- Ejar: The new statutory rules for the rental relationship (FAQ)
- REGA: Controls for objections to the set total rent of vacant properties
- REGA: Classification table of violations of the lessor–lessee provisions
- REGA: Controls for rectifying violations of the lessor–lessee provisions
General information for guidance, not legal advice; the governing regulations and official bodies are the final reference.
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