Can a landlord in Riyadh refuse to renew a lease?

Clause Four of the Statutory Provisions Regulating the Relationship between the Lessor and the Lessee (Royal Decree M/73 dated 2/4/1447H) lists these cases:

The provisions define real property as buildings and land inside the urban boundary used for residential or commercial purposes, or both, so the restriction covers residential and commercial leases. REGA’s Board may extend it to other cities with the approval of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. It does not bind the tenant, who can decline renewal with at least 60 days’ notice.

For the personal-use ground, REGA has decided that a landlord’s non-renewal notice in residential leases must be at least 365 days before the lease ends. Its decisions name no city, while Ejar presents the 365-day notice among the conditions for Riyadh landlords, so its geographic scope is not settled. Ejar’s official X account, in replies to users (January and June 2026), and an Okaz report citing Ejar (March 2026) also say the unit may not be let for 365 days after the notice period ends; that rule does not appear in the published decision texts.

Violations are heard by committees formed under Article 20 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law. REGA’s violations table, approved on 20/6/1447H (11 December 2025), fines a refusal outside the permitted cases 2 months’ rent for a first offence, 6 months’ rent for a second, and 12 months’ rent for a third or later offence, which is the statutory maximum.

Alongside the fine, the landlord must correct the violation by renewing the lease if the tenant still wants it, within the period set in the committee’s decision and no more than 10 working days from notification of that decision; otherwise REGA may renew it. If correction is impossible because the landlord has let the unit to another tenant in good faith, the parties are referred to the competent court, where the harmed party can also claim compensation. The landlord may challenge the violation decision before the competent judicial body within 30 days of notification.

Reports go to REGA through its approved electronic channels and must include the reporter’s details, the type, date and place of the violation, and supporting documents; REGA’s website offers a “Reports” (البلاغات) service that requires a Nafath login. A reporter can receive up to 20% of the fine collected, subject to conditions that include a final decision confirming the violation, REGA collecting the fine, and the violation not having already been detected by REGA.