The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing adopts the "Guide to Monitoring Illegal Subdivision of Residential Units" to enhance compliance and protect housing quality.

Monday 28 September 2026

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The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has adopted the “Guide to Monitoring Illegal Subdivision of Residential Units” as part of its ongoing efforts to promote compliance with municipal regulations and requirements, and to reduce irregular subdivision practices of residential units, thereby contributing to the preservation of building safety, improving the quality of the residential environment, and raising the efficiency of municipal oversight in various regions of the Kingdom.

The guide aims to provide a unified regulatory and supervisory framework to address the phenomenon of illegal subdivision, by defining the roles, responsibilities, and supervisory procedures for monitoring, verifying, and addressing violations in accordance with the approved municipal regulations and bylaws.

The ministry explained that the guide defines the illegal subdivision of residential units, and specifies the regulatory, technical and supervisory requirements and procedures for addressing these violations, in order to enhance compliance and maintain the safety of constructions and urban planning, and includes all residential and commercial residential units that have been subdivided in an irregular manner.

She explained that the guide identifies the entities concerned with its implementation, including the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, the secretariats and municipalities, partner entities, in addition to property owners and tenants, which enhances integration between the relevant entities and increases the effectiveness of monitoring and addressing issues.

The guide includes a definition of concepts and terms related to monitoring illegal subdivision, along with an integrated monitoring methodology based on proactive monitoring through matching data and lease contracts with issued licenses, utilizing community reports, and conducting field visits to verify suspected cases and monitor violations.

It also defines the roles and responsibilities among the competent authorities, where the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing undertakes the development of regulatory systems and guidelines, the preparation of monitoring plans, and the development of reporting mechanisms and technical linkage with partner entities to enhance data exchange, while the secretariats and municipalities undertake the implementation of monitoring tours, receiving reports, verifying violations, applying regulatory penalties, and following up on correcting the situations of violators.

The guide also addresses mechanisms for monitoring and identifying violating units, field verification procedures, and the mechanism for applying violations according to regulatory procedures, which contributes to unifying control and processing procedures and raising the efficiency of regulatory work.

The ministry stressed that adopting the guide contributes to reducing the negative effects of illegal subdivision, including its impact on the safety of buildings, infrastructure and quality of life in residential neighborhoods, and also supports raising the efficiency of utilizing the real estate stock, and promoting more organized and sustainable urban environments.

She pointed out that the adoption of the guide comes within the framework of regulatory and supervisory procedures implemented by the Ministry to enhance compliance with municipal regulations, raise the level of safety and reliability in the real estate sector, and improve the quality of services, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The guide can be viewed by visiting the link https://momah.gov.sa/ar/regulations .

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia