-  "Idle Lands": Today is the deadline for regular registration for the second phase in Riyadh

The Fee system of Idle Lands has confirmed that the registration deadline for the second phase in Riyadh ends today, June 15, 2022, in preparation for issuing fee invoices in the near future. 

The program stated in a press release today that delaying the registration of lands located within the specified geographical area in Riyadh, previously announced, whether in the first or second phase, will result in fines of up to 100% of the fee value, in addition to the imposed fee on the land.

It added: "All owners of idle lands located within the geographical area where idle land fees are applied in Riyadh are required to register their lands through the electronic portal (link), including owners of developed and undeveloped white lands, even after the end of the regular registration deadline."

According to the regulatory and implementing regulations of the program, landowners or their representatives are responsible for submitting the necessary documents and data and registering them during the specified period. In case the land is identified and registered by the program, penalties and fines will be applied to owners who fail to register after the deadline.

The program emphasized that exemption from fees requires registering the land in the Idle Lands Fees portal, then submitting justifications during the objection period after the invoice is issued. The objections will then be referred to a specialized committee for review. It clarified that the land fees invoice is issued in the name of the landowner based on data from the Ministry of Justice at the time of issuance. If the land ownership is transferred after the invoice is issued, the original owner is obliged to pay the fees.

Before the end of the regular registration deadline, the Idle Lands Program announced the registration of over 20 million square meters of developed lands in Riyadh, from the lands identified by the program but not registered by their owners, along with the issuance of non-registration violations. The program works on monitoring lands in coordination with the municipalities and the Ministry of Justice, aiming to provide around 60,000 land plots with an average area of 350 square meters, which may include more than one housing unit per plot or larger plots that will accommodate larger groups of housing units in vertical construction, potentially adding over 150,000 housing units to the real estate market in Riyadh.

The program emphasized its call for land registration by owners as a commitment to compliance with the regulations, to avoid non-registration violations, and to benefit from services and partnerships with other entities and programs provided by the White Lands platform, in order to obtain permits and licenses necessary for revitalizing and developing the land.

It is worth noting that the enforcement system for Idle Lands Fees invoices came into effect in August 2020, meaning that the issuance of Idle Lands Fees invoices requires payment. The program has the right to resort to enforcement measures to collect fees from the accounts or properties of the landowners, in line with the program's goals of increasing the real estate supply from developed lands to achieve a balance between supply and demand, provide affordably priced developed residential lands, promote fair competition, and reduce monopolies to stimulate supply in the real estate sector.