A security deposit, which Ejar calls the «guarantee amount» (مبلغ الضمان) and many people call «التأمين», is money a tenant pays in trust to compensate the landlord for damage the tenant causes. It is not rent, and the landlord may not spend it. On leases documented in Ejar, the amount is reserved from the tenant’s Ejar wallet at documentation and held by Ejar as a neutral party. It is then released automatically, or the value of damage is deducted from it, according to the handover form both parties agree on. If they disagree, the matter goes to experts designated by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA) if both consent, and otherwise to the competent court.
This guide is written for tenants and landlords and follows the deposit from payment to refund. For the accounting side of managing deposits in a real estate office, see Managing Security Deposits.
What is a security deposit on a Saudi lease, and is it mandatory?
A deposit is an optional term that the landlord and tenant agree on and write into the lease; it is not a condition for documenting the lease. Ejar states that if no deposit amount is set, documentation is not affected, but if an amount is set, it must be recorded and held by Ejar.
Article 1 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law, a definition Ejar repeats, describes the deposit as money the tenant pays in trust to compensate the owner of the property or of the right of use for any damage that falls within the tenant’s liability and that the tenant caused. Its stated purpose is compensation for damage.
Neither the Real Estate Brokerage Law nor its Executive Regulation sets the size of the deposit. The unified residential lease simply binds the parties to the percentage or amount they agreed. The Regulation says a deposit may be cash or a bank guarantee. These rules apply across the whole Kingdom; they are not specific to Riyadh.
Where is the deposit held, and why doesn’t the landlord receive it?
The deposit is held by REGA or its delegate, which in practice is Ejar, the platform REGA supervises. Article 12 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law (Royal Decree M/130 dated 30/11/1443H) requires the broker to receive the deposit and hand it to REGA or its delegate. It stays there until the property is returned without damage, and is then paid back to the tenant in full, or whatever remains after the value of damage is deducted.
Article 20 of the Executive Regulation adds that a cash deposit must be handed over within no more than two working days of concluding the unified lease and receiving the deposit. It is kept in a special account opened for this purpose and may not be used for anything else. REGA announced the launch of the «deposit safekeeping» service through Ejar on 20 June 2023.
How is the deposit reserved from the tenant’s wallet?
- The real estate broker registers the lease in Ejar and enters the deposit amount.
- A notice appears that the deposit must be paid from the tenant’s Ejar wallet.
- If the balance is not enough, the tenant tops up the wallet on the same page; the amount is reserved automatically, and the tenant then completes their approval of the lease.
- Once both parties approve and the lease is documented, the system confirms the reservation and shows it in the tenant’s wallet as the «reserved deposit amount».
- If the lease is not documented, or the landlord does not approve it, the hold is lifted and the money returns to the tenant as available balance.
What is the Ejar receipt and handover form, and how does it decide the deposit?
The receipt and handover form is the record on which the refund or deduction is based. It is an electronic form linked to the documented lease that describes the unit, its contents and its condition. Both parties complete it twice: at the start of the lease (receipt) and at the end (handover). Ejar describes the service as mandatory.
- Who fills it in: only the landlord and the tenant, not the broker. If a representative of either party is registered on the lease, the representative acts and the principal can only view the form.
- How: from the party’s Ejar account or through the link sent by text message, with a verification code sent to the mobile number registered in Absher.
- Notes and photos: a party who answers «No» to any item can write notes and attach photos showing the unit’s condition, and the other party can see them.
- No edits after sending: the landlord cannot edit the form once sent, and the tenant cannot send it back for changes; the tenant records notes and then approves or rejects.
- Scope: according to Ejar’s service page, the electronic service currently covers residential leases only.
| Stage | Deadline to fill in | If the form is not completed in time |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt at the start of the lease | 7 days from documentation | Treated as implied approval that the unit was in sound condition |
| Handover at the end of the lease | 7 days after the lease ends | Treated as implied approval that the unit is sound; according to Ejar’s official account, the deposit is then released to the tenant’s wallet |
Missing these windows can cost either party their rights: according to Ejar’s user manual, a period that ends without the form being completed counts as implied approval that the unit is sound. A tenant who does not record defects at move-in starts the lease with a record saying the unit is sound. Ejar’s official account on X explained in July 2025 that no response to the handover form within the period means the handover is treated as good and the deposit hold is released to the tenant’s wallet; so a landlord who does not complete the form in time sees the deposit released to the tenant. The handover form is also relied on when a lease is cancelled before its end.
The unified residential lease allows the parties to name a third party through Ejar to supervise receipt and handover, and either party may ask Ejar for an accredited valuer to complete these steps. For practical handover-day details, see Handover, Receipt and Key Management and the glossary entry Move-In Checklist.
What can and cannot be deducted from the deposit?
Deductions are allowed for damage beyond normal use for which the tenant is responsible, and not for ordinary wear. The rule comes from three texts:
- Article 435 of the Civil Transactions Law (Royal Decree M/191 dated 29/11/1444H): at the end of the lease the tenant must return the property in the condition in which it was received, except for what normal use entails.
- Article 430 of the same law: the tenant must look after the property as an ordinary person would, and must compensate the landlord for damage caused by the tenant’s misuse or negligence.
- Article 12 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law: the deposit, or what remains of it, is returned after the value of the damage is deducted.
On the other side, the landlord must make the repairs needed to keep the property fit for use, including fixing any defect that affects the intended use, unless the parties agree otherwise (Article 419). The unified residential lease puts periodic maintenance costs on the landlord and makes the landlord responsible for maintenance affecting the building’s safety or with causes not visible to the tenant. Maintenance by the tenant during the lease follows custom unless agreed otherwise (Article 433).
| Situation | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Marks of ordinary everyday use of the unit | Not deducted from the deposit | Civil Transactions Law, Art. 435 |
| Damage or breakage caused by the tenant’s misuse or negligence | Its value is deducted from the deposit | Civil Transactions Law, Art. 430; Brokerage Law, Art. 12 |
| A fault that affects the intended use, a defect with a hidden cause, or anything affecting building safety | The landlord’s repair, not the deposit’s | Civil Transactions Law, Art. 419; unified residential lease |
| Changes the tenant made to the unit without the landlord’s permission | Not allowed unless needed for a repair and harmless; the unified lease requires written consent | Civil Transactions Law, Art. 432; unified residential lease |
| Removing fixed improvements or decor that cannot be moved | Not allowed without the landlord’s written consent | Unified residential lease |
The law does not list types of damage, so the table illustrates the rule rather than settling any particular case. Damage is first valued by agreement between the parties on the form REGA prepared, as Article 20 of the Regulation provides; if they disagree, the expert or the court decides. For the distinction itself, see the glossary entry Normal Wear and Tear.
Can unpaid rent or utility bills be taken from the deposit?
The official texts link deductions to damage and do not mention unpaid rent or utility bills. The Brokerage Law speaks of «the value of the damage», the law’s definition of the deposit limits its purpose to compensating damage, and the unified residential lease provides for deducting amounts owed because of damage or breakage the tenant caused. A landlord should therefore not plan on the deposit covering rent arrears.
Unpaid rent has its own route: a unified lease documented in Ejar is an executive instrument, so the landlord can file an enforcement request with the Execution Court through Najiz. The current Execution Law (Royal Decree M/53) applies until 27 October 2026, and the new Execution Law (Royal Decree M/237) applies from 28 October 2026; see the new Execution Law for the differences. Since 15 January 2024, rent on new residential leases is paid only through Ejar’s digital channels, which keeps a clear payment record for both sides.
As for electricity, water and gas, the unified residential lease makes the tenant pay these bills during the lease, or pay the landlord a fixed periodic amount for them, as the parties agree. If they disagree about bills, non-enforcement rental disputes go to the General Court through Najiz. The safest course for a tenant is to settle the bills and record meter readings before handover day, so they do not get mixed up with the deposit.
How does the deposit get back to the tenant?
The deposit returns automatically to the tenant’s Ejar wallet, and the tenant then transfers it to a bank account. When the lease ends or is cancelled, Ejar relies on the agreed handover form and returns the amounts due to each party as available balance in their wallets: the full deposit to the tenant if there is no damage, or the agreed part to the landlord as compensation and the rest to the tenant.
Article 20 of the Regulation says REGA or its delegate returns the deposit, or what remains, based on the parties’ agreement, their acceptance of the experts’ solution, or a court judgment. The unified residential lease provides that the deposit is returned to the tenant within 30 days of vacating the unit, after deducting amounts owed for damage or breakage the tenant caused.
Withdrawing the balance from the Ejar wallet
- Open the wallet in your Ejar account.
- Enter the amount to withdraw and your IBAN, or choose the bank account assigned to the wallet.
- Press the refund icon and confirm the details.
- Enter the verification code sent to your Absher-registered mobile to submit the request.
To follow up on a withdrawal request or any deposit question, contact Ejar on its unified number, 199011.
What should I do if we disagree about the deposit?
A deposit dispute goes through three levels: objecting inside the form, then experts if both parties agree, then the competent court. There are no rental dispute committees and no specialized real estate courts.
- Object inside the form. Answer «No» to the disputed item, write a precise note, attach photos, and reject the form if you do not accept its contents. Do this within the seven days.
- Specialized experts. Article 12 of the Brokerage Law provides that any dispute between landlord and tenant about the deposit and the assessment of damage is first resolved by specialized experts designated by REGA, if both parties agree, with the experts’ fees split equally. Under Article 20 of the Regulation, the expert is one of the accredited valuers REGA designates. Ejar’s receipt and handover page says the expert assesses the damage and the refund follows that assessment.
- The competent court. If the parties do not agree to accept the experts’ solution, either may go to the competent court. Non-enforcement rental disputes are heard by the General Court through Najiz, and the deposit is then released according to the judgment.
If both parties agree to arbitration, they can use the Saudi Real Estate Arbitration Center. Whatever the dispute, a tenant is better off leaving on time: Article 435 entitles the landlord to fair market rent if the tenant keeps the property without right, in addition to any compensation.
What about deposits on older leases or paid outside Ejar?
If the deposit was paid in cash or by transfer to the landlord or broker and was never reserved in an Ejar wallet, Ejar will not refund it automatically, because Ejar does not hold the money. This can happen with leases concluded before the deposit safekeeping service was launched on 20 June 2023.
The substantive rule is the same: the tenant returns the unit in the condition received, except for normal use, and gets back the deposit or what remains after the value of damage. What changes is proof, which rests on each party’s documents: the deposit clause in the lease, the payment receipt or bank transfer, photos of the unit, and any receipt and handover records. In a dispute, the route is the General Court through Najiz, or arbitration if both parties agree.
A lease never documented in Ejar runs into Council of Ministers Decision 292 dated 16/5/1438H, under which an unregistered lease has no administrative or judicial effect. The Ministry of Justice applied it to leases concluded after 4/5/1440H, around 10 January 2019. Documenting the lease in Ejar is what keeps the deposit protected and makes the handover form available.
Practical checklist: what each party should do
Tenant checklist
- Before approving the lease: check that the deposit amount is written in the lease and will be reserved from your Ejar wallet, not paid in cash outside it.
- Within 7 days of documentation: complete the receipt form, answer «No» to every item with a defect, and attach clear photos.
- During the lease: do not alter the unit or remove fixed decor without the landlord’s written consent, and report faults the landlord must repair.
- Before moving out: repair damage you caused, pay the utility bills, clean the unit and photograph it once empty.
- Within 7 days after the lease ends: review the handover form and object in writing to any deduction you do not accept.
- Once the deposit is released: transfer the balance from the wallet to your bank account.
Landlord checklist
- Set the deposit in the lease through the broker and do not take it in cash on a lease documented in Ejar; a deposit that is set must be recorded and held by Ejar.
- Complete the receipt form carefully: contents and the condition of appliances, walls and floors, with dated photos.
- Carry out the repairs that are yours during the lease; what the landlord owes cannot be charged to the deposit.
- At the end of the lease: inspect the unit and complete the handover form within 7 days, or the unit is treated as being in good condition and the deposit is released to the tenant.
- Value damage with verifiable documents, such as a repair quote or invoice, not a rough guess.
- Keep any rent arrears claim separate from the deposit and pursue it through enforcement.
- If you disagree: offer the tenant to refer the matter to REGA-designated experts before going to court.
For the rest of a tenant’s rights and obligations, see Tenant Rights in Saudi Arabia.
Summary
On leases documented in Ejar, the deposit never passes through the landlord’s hands: it is reserved from the tenant’s wallet and held by Ejar until handover. On residential leases, the receipt and handover form decides what happens to it, with 7 days at the start and 7 days at the end, and silence in either window counts as approval that the unit is sound. Only damage beyond normal use can be deducted; unpaid rent has its own enforcement route. In a dispute, the parties can go to REGA-designated experts if both agree, and otherwise to the General Court through Najiz.
Official sources
- Real Estate Brokerage Law, Article 12
- Executive Regulation of the Real Estate Brokerage Law, Article 20 (REGA)
- Civil Transactions Law, Articles 419, 430, 432, 433 and 435
- Deposit safekeeping service (Ejar)
- Electronic receipt and handover service for residential units (Ejar)
- User manual: receipt and handover service (Ejar)
- Ejar’s official X account: handover deadline and deposit release (July 2025)
- Residential lease: obligations of the parties and the deposit (Ejar)
- REGA launches deposit safekeeping through Ejar (SPA, 20 June 2023)