For the purposes of this Regulation, the words and phrases listed below - wherever they appear herein - shall have the meanings specified next to each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:
Minister:  Minister of Housing.

Ministry: Ministry of Housing.

Law:  Law on White Land Fees.

Regulation: Implementing Regulation of the Law.

Vacant Land: Land that has not been developed for the purpose for which it is designated, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations at the time of the announcement.
White Lands: Any vacant land designated for residential or residential-commercial use; within the boundaries of the urban development area.

Obligor: A natural or legal person registered in whose name the document proving ownership of the land subject to the fee is issued at the time of the decision regarding it, including their heirs or successors.

Announcement: The announcement issued by the Ministry regarding the lands subject to the fee within a phase of the timeline program, as specified in Article (6) of the Regulation.
Developed Land: Vacant land whose planning has been finally approved by the competent authority.

Urban Development: For undeveloped land; it is the completion of its development in accordance with the regulatory requirements at the time of the approval of its plan - excluding what has previously been approved as a network of streets and similar matters - and for developed land; it is the completion of the construction of residential facilities on it - excluding fencing and similar matters - in accordance with the building permit issued for it.

Decision: The decision issued by the Minister to determine the amount of the fee on a specific land.

City: Any population gathering, whether it is a city, governorate, or center.

Boundaries of the Urban Development Area: The lines indicated on the maps of the urban development area documents according to the approved criteria for determining the urban development area, which clarify the various stages of urban development, and the protection limits for development, representing the appropriate boundaries for settling urban activities, and accommodating urban growth over a specified period.

Public Utilities: Networks of roads, water, electricity, communications, sewage, and stormwater drainage.

Public Services: Religious, educational, health, security services, and similar services; which are not included in the statutory planning percentage.

• 1. Urban zoning maps and their detailed plans as issued by the competent agencies shall be the reference in urban zoning and land use allocation.

• 2. Alteration of the urban zoning of a city shall entail the alteration of the area subject to taxation.

1- A committee (or more) shall be formed in the Ministry - by a decision of the Minister - consisting of no less than three members, one of whom must be a valuer from the Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers.
2- Members of the committee must possess sufficient experience in the field of real estate valuation and related land development procedures, and the term of membership in the committee shall be (three) years, renewable,
3- The committee is responsible for estimating the fair value of the land subject to the application of the fee, and determining the additional period referred to in subparagraph (d) of paragraph (1) of Article (nine) of the Regulation, in accordance with the necessary technical standards and controls required to perform its work, as stipulated in the Law and the Regulation, and any directives issued by the Minister in this regard, and its decisions shall be made by majority vote.
4- The rules of operation of the committee, its procedures, and the remuneration of its members shall be issued by a decision of the Minister.

• The value of the land subject to taxation shall be determined on the basis of its value on the date of announcement as per the following criteria:

  • 1. Location within the urban limits.

  • 2. Uses.

  • 3. Terrain.

  • 4. Applicable building codes.

  • 5. Availability of public services and accessibility to public utilities.

  • 6. Surrounding commercial, industrial, and social activities and uses which have an impact on residential use.

• 1. For the purpose of determining the value of a land subject to taxation, the availability of public services and accessibility to public utilities shall be determined as follows:

  • a) Availability of public services and utilities that impact land valuation.

  • b) Weight of each service or utility in terms of its necessity for housing.

  • c) Weight of the service or utility shall not change within the same city.

• 2. 2The Ministry may conduct periodic reviews of the service or utility weight, provided that the aggregate weight for estimating the basic value of a land is calculated pursuant to a formula set by the Ministry.

• 1- The application of the fee on lands subject to the fee shall be according to the following stages:

  • A- Stage One: Undeveloped lands with an area of ten thousand square meters or more, located within the scope defined by the Ministry.

  • B- Stage Two: Developed land with an area of ten thousand square meters or more, and the total developed lands owned by a single owner that have areas of ten thousand square meters or more in one approved plan, located within the scope defined by the Ministry.

  • C- Stage Three: Developed land with an area of five thousand square meters or more, and the total developed lands owned by a single owner that have areas of ten thousand square meters or more in one city, located within the scope defined by the Ministry.

• 2- If a specific stage does not apply to any of the cities, or if the lands within a specific stage are insufficient to achieve the required balance between supply and demand, it may - by a decision of the Minister - be permissible to bypass that stage and move to another stage, provided that this does not affect the application of the fee on the preceding stages.

• The fee shall be applied according to the following schedule:

• 1- The announcement of the subjection of any city to the application of fees shall be based on the need to increase the supply of developed land therein.

• 2- The Ministry shall periodically review the situation in any city to determine the application of the fee on the land therein, or to suspend the application, or to apply one or more phases, or to skip a certain phase and move to any of the following phases in the same city, as detailed in Article (6) of the Regulation.

• 3- The Minister may take the following actions:

  • A- Standardize the dates for issuing annual fee invoices for each city separately, in accordance with the practices in calculating taxes and fees.

  • B- Determine the amount due from the fee value for the period that has been amended - as a result of standardizing the dates for issuing invoices according to paragraph (A) above - and the duration for its payment referred to in paragraph (3) of Article (14), and the time required to complete the development or construction of the land referred to in sub-paragraph (D) of paragraph (1) of Article (9).