What are white land fees in Saudi Arabia and who pays them?
Short answer
The white land fee is an annual charge of no more than 10% of a plot’s value, levied on developable vacant land inside the urban boundary when it lies in a geographic zone announced by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing and measures at least 5,000 m², or when the owner’s white land in that city adds up to that size. It is paid by whoever holds the title deed when the invoice is issued, including successors such as heirs; state property is excluded. The actual rate depends on the zone’s tier: 10%, 7.5%, 5% or 2.5%, with no fee in the fifth tier.
What is the rate and how is it set?
Royal Decree M/244 dated 7/11/1446H replaced the original flat 2.5% with a ceiling of 10% and widened white land from residential and residential-commercial plots to any vacant land capable of development inside the urban boundary. The amendment was published in the Umm Al-Qura gazette on 12 May 2025, and the White Land Fees Implementing Regulation followed on 22 August 2025.
Under the regulation, a ministerial decision splits each covered city into zones by urban development priority, and the tier’s rate is applied each year to the land value assessed by a technical committee that includes licensed valuers:
- Tier 1 (top priority): 10%.
- Tier 2 (high priority): 7.5%.
- Tier 3 (medium priority): 5%.
- Tier 4 (low priority): 2.5%.
- Tier 5 (outside the priorities): no fee, but its area still counts toward the owner’s total.
Who pays, and when is land covered?
The liable person is the individual or legal entity named on the title deed when the invoice is issued, including anyone who succeeds them by inheritance or by law. Where land is jointly owned, each co-owner pays a share of the fee in proportion to their ownership.
Article 7 of the regulation requires the land to be white land, capable of development or building, inside the announced zone, in a use listed in the minister’s decision, and at least 5,000 m² on its own or together with the owner’s other white land in the city. In the regulation, “city” also covers governorates and centres.
Riyadh is the first city under the new regulation
The ministry announced Riyadh’s five-tier zone maps on 27 August 2025, the land registration window closed on 30 October 2025, and invoicing began on 1 January 2026 with more than 60,000 invoices. In Riyadh the covered uses include residential, residential-commercial and commercial land. Land anywhere becomes subject to the fee only after a ministerial announcement brings its city under the fee and sets the zones.
Payment, objections and fines
Each invoice states the rate, amount, due date, payment method and right to object. The key rules:
- Pay within one Gregorian year of the invoice date; an invoice covering earlier years is due within 90 days of notification.
- Object in writing to the competent committee within 60 days of notification; the committee must decide within 60 days, silence counts as rejection, and its decision can be challenged before the competent administrative court.
- A violation is fined up to the amount of the fee due, and the fee itself must still be paid.
Follow-up questions
Do I get the fee back if I develop or build on the land?
Yes. If, after paying, you complete development (all infrastructure) or building (all structures under the permits) within the payment period or any extra time the committee grants, what you paid for those periods is refunded. Fencing alone does not count as building.
Can I sell land subject to the fee before paying it?
Not until the fees are settled: Council of Ministers Resolution 263 dated 12/3/1448H, published in Umm Al-Qura on 4 September 2026, bars documenting any transfer of ownership of covered land until payment of the fees due is verified, while transactions that do not transfer ownership are documented in a way that protects the state’s right to collect those fees. The regulation also ends the payment period if the owner wants to sell before development is complete, so the fee must be paid before ownership passes. The 5% real estate transaction tax is separate from this fee.
How do I find out whether my land is covered?
The White Land and Vacant Property Fees portal has a “land fee status” service that you can query with your title deed or real estate registry details.
Official sources
- White Land and Vacant Property Fees Law — Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
- White Land Fees Implementing Regulation — Umm Al-Qura Gazette
- Ministry of Municipalities and Housing: Riyadh white land fee zone maps
- Ministry of Municipalities and Housing: first white land invoicing in Riyadh
- Council of Ministers Resolution 263: no ownership transfer of land subject to the fees is documented before payment — Umm Al-Qura Gazette
General information for guidance, not legal advice; the governing regulations and official bodies are the final reference.
Read also
Related questions
- What is the vacant property fee in Saudi Arabia?
- Who pays the real estate transaction tax, the seller or the buyer?
- Who pays the Ejar lease documentation fee, the landlord or the tenant?
- How much does an execution request cost for rent claims?
- Is there VAT on residential rent in Saudi Arabia?
- How do I use the first-home real estate transaction tax relief?
Managing properties?
Amlakire organises leases, instalments, collection and reports in one place, with a permanently free plan for individual owners.
Explore the platform