Saudi Housing Ministry aims to increase rate of property ownership, improve real estate sector

A general view shows newly constructed residential buildings in Riyadh, in this April 22, 2013 file photo. (Reuters)

RIYADH: The Ministry of Housing has launched programs and initiatives to achieve Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.
The ministry’s directives aim to give citizens the opportunity to own properties, improve the performance of the real estate sector and increase its production, promote real estate offers, and increase productivity to provide real estate properties in good condition and proper prices. The ministry has launched this directive in an attempt to achieve one of NTP’s goals to increase the rate of property ownership to 52 percent.
The ministry has signed many contracts and conventions with banks, financial institutions and real-estate developers both locally and internationally.
The ministry has continued adopting projects to provide houses for those who are in need of housing support. Currently, 46 projects providing 13,793 housing units are under development in the Kingdom, nine of which have already been delivered in Riyadh, Makkah, Sharkiyah, Qasim, Jawf and Baha.
The ministry is also working to establish infrastructure to provide water, roads, lighting, gardens and spaces for schools and other projects for these units.
The ministry also aims to regulate the rental sector to ensure the rights of the rental parties (landlord and tenant), through a high-tech electronic platform.
One of the ministry’s programs aims to find solutions for the many challenges facing the rental sector, which represents half the housing sector in the Kingdom, in order to create a safe and sustainable housing environment.
The program also aims to reduce obstacles that delay projects and find a proper environment that attracts investments in this sector.