Over 150,000 real estate deeds issued in 8 months

RIYADH: The Ministry of Justice issued 156,342 real estate deeds for individuals and corporations in an eight-month period after the application of the “one-day handling” procedures.
Last year, Minister of Justice Walid Al-Samaani directed all courts and notaries to shorten buying and selling procedures, and documentation of real estate contracts and deeds for individuals and corporations.
The step reportedly comes in line with the ministry’s drive to speed up procedures in implementing the “one-day handling” principle which takes only 10 minutes to finish, the ministry said.
Riyadh region topped the Kingdom’s regions of having the highest number of cleared deeds at 46,196, followed by Makkah Region (27,716), and the Eastern Province (26,807), according to a report issued on works of notaries.
Based on the minister’s directives, five steps must be observed to clear and issue deeds for individuals: Presence of the real estate deed; presence of both buyer and seller with their IDs; valid power of attorney of the buyer and seller (not older than five years); if the power of attorney is issued outside the Kingdom, it should be duly certified; and the money paid for the deed is to be made through a certified check or deposited in the account of the beneficiary.
Regarding corporate deeds, another five steps must be followed: Presence of a copy of the company’s founding document; a valid commercial registration; an authorized representative of the company; an agency issued by the company containing the authorized person who issued the agency, together with his legal position in the company; and the presence of a written approval from the Ministry of Commerce and Investment in case there was a foreign partner covered by the foreign investment system.