The Housing Ministry published the amended executive regulations for the Kingdom’s Housing Support law in the Official Gazette, introducing updated eligibility rules for beneficiaries and a new points-based system.

The regulations introduce a points-based system to prioritize applicants based on need. Households with lower incomes receive more points, as well as larger families and applicants with serious health conditions. Joint applications through mothers, wives, or siblings are prioritized, while older applicants are given priority in case of equal points.

Eligibility criteria: Eligible applicants include families in different formations, as well as individuals classified under the family category, such as divorced and widowed women, unmarried citizens over 25, and people with disabilities. Applicants must be Saudi nationals and their families must reside in the Kingdom. Household members cannot have previously owned suitable housing or benefited from government or private housing support. Applicants must be at least 20 years old if they are a husband or father, while other categories are exempt from this requirement. Divorced women are now eligible for housing support for one year after divorce, down from two years previously.

Financial rules: Families are considered financially able to buy a home if their assets are valued at SAR 5 mn or more, excluding up to three personal cars and land plots totaling less than 1k sqm. Monthly installments are capped at 33% of income, with a repayment period of up to 25 years, and applicants must not exceed 65 years of age by the end of repayment. Payments start four months after receiving a unit or financing for purchase, or two years in the case of self-construction. Home can be rented out if repayments are up to date and relocation is required for work, study, or other circumstances.

The regulations specify how housing support is provided — through units, land, or financing — giving priority to applicants who can manage installment repayments. Those unable to do so must provide family guarantees or co-signers. Beneficiaries are required to use the support within designated timeframes, with land recipients required to start construction within one year and finish within three years, or risk losing their allocation.

REMEMBER- The government has rolled out sweeping reforms to stimulate the real estate market — opening property ownership to non-Saudis, permitting foreign investment in Makkah and Madinah real estate firms, lifting development curbs on 81 sq km of land in northern Riyadh, and amending the White Land Tax law. It also plans to release 10k-40k affordable residential plots annually, while Riyadh’s Royal Commission also launched the Tawazoun platform, offering citizens residential plots capped at SAR 1.5k per sqm.

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