Justice Minister Mohammad Al-Eissa

Justice Minister and Supreme Judiciary Council President Mohammad Al-Eissa has said that courts will not hear cases that violate the executive list of real estate offices.

The minister called on courts not to register any case related to brokers or real estate mediation that violate the rules and regulations of real estate offices, which has been issued upon the resolution of the Council of Ministers.

He stressed in a letter addressed to courts the importance of complete conformity with the executive list of real estate offices, because of the violations and transgressions conducted by some practitioners in real estate mediation.

The minister confirmed that many real estate mediation cases involving violations of the regulations, or arbitrary or fake cases, have occupied courts lately. None of these cases should be registered unless the lawsuit list is complete, and mentions prior agreements and share values, and whether or not these percentages should paid by the seller or the buyer.

He encouraged courts to abide by the list’s text because it is part of the regulations that should be taken into consideration during judicial rulings. He confirmed that this regulation is obligatory, and that it cancels anything that violates the list’s texts. It also cancels any unlicensed intervention of intermediaries.

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice showed an increase in real estate cases, with 5,393 property ownership cases, 402 purchase or substituting property cases, 79 permissions to move ownership of property to absentees or minors, 31 cases of inspecting and evaluating properties, 45 cases of transferring ownership for the state, 2,981 inheritance cases, 297 permission to purchase land for minors or absentees, 96 cases for moving ownership of property to the state and 4,262 cases of evictions.

This decision was sent to El-Eisa for approval to establish real estate courts that specialize in relevant cases. The list for regulating the work of real estate offices bans the establishment of real estate offices unless they were registered with the commercial register. The office should be fully owned by a Saudi individual or Saudi company. The responsible director should be a Saudi national, and the office can only practice real estate related activities, as stated in the commercial register.

Further, real estate offices are not allowed to sell or mediate in the sale of any property unless they have copies of the ownership documents.

According to the list, the commission from the sale is defined through agreement between the seller, buyer and the owner of the real estate office. The leasing contract defines the commission of the real estate office and the party which should pay it. The commission should not exceed 2.5 percent of an annual lease, even if the term of the lease is longer.

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