Service for buyers and owners
Property in Saudi Arabia: due diligence and supervision of works
The market opened to foreign buyers in 2026, and its rules change faster than the articles about it. We do not sell property and we give no financial advice. We read the documents, stand on the site, and are accountable for you understanding what you are buying.
When we are needed
A buyer from another country cannot check the things that matter here: whether the zone is open, what the contract actually says, and what has been built on site. That is exactly what we cover.
- You are looking at a unit in the Kingdom and cannot check the seller, the developer or the contract yourself
- You need someone to physically walk the site and read it as an engineer
- It is unclear whether the chosen zone is open to a foreign buyer, and on what terms
- The unit is bought, fit-out is under way, and nobody is controlling quality or quantities
- You need the condition and scope of works assessed on a resale unit before the deal, not after
Three facts that set the market today
This is neither analysis nor forecast. These are the rules in force, from which any decision on a unit follows. Dates are given so you can check them yourself.
Foreign buyers are open to boundaries in an official document, not to districts
The law on real estate ownership by non-Saudis came into force in January 2026. Ownership is permitted only within the limits listed in the geographic scope document published by the Real Estate General Authority; in Riyadh and Jeddah those are specific zones inside the city, and Makkah and Madinah carry a special regime. Property types, share and duration of ownership are set zone by zone, so no single national figure exists: eligibility is read off the official source for the specific plot, not off an article.
In Riyadh, rent is frozen for five years
An order of 25 September 2025, effective immediately, covering residential and commercial property inside the Riyadh urban area. The baseline follows the unit's status: under a live lease the current rent is fixed; for a vacant unit with a leasing history it is the last registered contract; for a unit never leased the rent is agreed freely and then frozen for five years as well. Leases renew automatically unless a party gives notice in advance, and in Riyadh a landlord may refuse renewal only on listed grounds.
Hence a practical conclusion rather than an opinion
Refurbishment on its own does not lift the rent ceiling. Which means the buy-refurbish-let-for-more arithmetic does not add up on a Riyadh unit with a leasing history, while a unit without one is calculated differently. The difference between those two cases costs money and is established before the deal, from the unit's own records. We check it first and say plainly when the model you arrived with does not work.
What the due diligence covers
One document at the end, a fixed fee stated before the work starts. The report is written to be used in negotiation.
- Eligibility: whether the zone is open to a foreign buyer, which form of ownership and for how long — read off the official source for the specific plot, with the date of the check stated
- Deal documents: what is promised and what is excluded, handover dates, payment order, penalties, and what happens if the developer is late. We read the Arabic text, not the English translation
- Seller and developer: what they have in progress, what they have delivered, and what evidences it
- The unit: a site visit, drawings, the condition of structure and building services, what the finishes hide, and which works will be needed
- The cost of works: scope and a staged estimate for fit-out or refurbishment, so the figure exists before the deal rather than after
- The unit's leasing history — the rent regime follows from it, and in Riyadh this is the decisive item
- What we do not check and who should: legal opinion, valuation and tax belong to licensed professionals in the Kingdom. We name them; we do not stand in for them
A separate line of work is owners who already hold a unit: fit-out and refurbishment by our own team in Riyadh, a written staged estimate, supervision with photo reports. Operation, maintenance and letting are a separate service of a partner company, discussed after handover. Suppliers of materials for such projects have their own page.
How the work runs
- 01
Brief
What the unit is, where, at what stage, and what you want from it. If the description already shows the zone is closed or the model does not work, you hear that in the first conversation and at no cost.
- 02
Eligibility check
Zone, form of ownership, duration — from the official source, with the date of the check in the report.
- 03
Unit and documents
A site visit and a review of the contract. This is the part that cannot be done over video.
- 04
Report
One document: what is there, what is wrong, what it costs, which questions to put to the seller and what to fix in the contract before signing.
- 05
Your decision
We do not push the deal and take no percentage of it. If the conclusion is not to buy, that is what the report will say.
- 06
Works
If you go ahead: fit-out, supervision and acceptance by our team in Riyadh.
The fee for the review is fixed and stated before the work starts. It does not depend on whether you buy or walk away, and it is not tied to the price of the unit. We take no commission on the transaction — this is consulting, not brokerage.
What we will not do
We do not sell property
We do not source lots or run sales: brokerage is a licensed activity here and we do not carry it out. If you need a broker, you need a licensed broker, and we will say so plainly.
We give no financial advice
No yields, no price forecasts, no advice to invest. Nothing on this page is a financial recommendation. We describe the rules and the condition of a unit with facts and sources; the decision is yours.
We do not promise capital growth
Nobody can promise that, and in a market whose rules changed in mid-2026, such a promise is itself a warning.
We do not replace a lawyer, valuer or tax adviser
The opinion, the valuation and the tax position are the work of licensed professionals in the Kingdom.
We take no percentage of the deal
Our interest is not in you buying. It is in the report being right: you will use it in negotiation, and it is easy to test.
Frequent questions
Can a foreigner buy property in Riyadh?
The law on real estate ownership by non-Saudis has been in force since January 2026, and ownership is permitted within the limits listed in the Real Estate General Authority's geographic scope document. For Riyadh and Jeddah those are specific zones inside the city rather than the whole city; Makkah and Madinah carry a special regime. Property types, share and duration are set zone by zone, so the answer for your unit comes from checking the specific plot, not from a general rule.
So can I buy an apartment in any district of Riyadh?
No. Ordinary residential districts are not automatically on the list — whether your unit falls inside the open boundaries is checked against the official document on the date of the check. This is where the gap between what a seller says and what the document says shows up most often.
Is it true that rent cannot be raised in Riyadh?
An order of 25 September 2025 fixed rents inside the Riyadh urban area for five years, across residential and commercial property. The baseline depends on whether the unit was let before and what the last registered contract shows. For a unit never let, the first rent is agreed freely — and then becomes fixed too.
Are you a broker? Do you get a percentage if I buy?
No to both. Brokerage is licensed here, we do not carry it out, we take no commission on a transaction and we have no interest in the deal happening. We charge a fixed fee for the review, stated before the work starts.
What does the review cost?
The fee is fixed and depends on whether it is one unit or several, whether travel outside Riyadh is involved, and whether a scope-and-cost estimate is included. It is stated up front, not as a percentage of the price.
Can the buyer be a company rather than an individual?
The law allows ownership by Saudi companies with non-Saudi shareholders and by certain vehicles with foreign capital, subject to the same geographic and regulatory controls. The specific structure is a question for a lawyer in the Kingdom and for the terms of the chosen zone, and we send that question there directly.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, before the brief on the unit and the transaction.
Tell us what the unit is
Where it is, at what stage, what the seller says and what you are looking at. In the first reply we will tell you whether the zone is open and whether a review is worth doing. If it is not, we will say so.