The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing affirmed the importance of the commitment of establishments and individuals to the approved municipal requirements and regulations, in a way that contributes to protecting public facilities, improving the urban landscape, enhancing the levels of safety and public health in the cities and governorates of the Kingdom, and raising the quality of municipal services, consistent with the Ministry’s objectives of elevating quality of life and achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
The Ministry explained that the update of the schedule of penalties for municipal violations comes within an integrated regulatory framework aimed at unifying procedures and enhancing transparency and clarity in applying penalties, as it defines the paths of remediation and action according to precise criteria that take into account the nature of the violation, its impact, and the extent of its recurrence, in addition to the classification of the regional and local municipalities and the size of the establishments, in a way that ensures fairness of application and raises the efficiency of compliance across the various activities subject to municipal supervision.
It indicated that the approved schedule included clear mechanisms for handling violations that begin — in a number of non-serious cases — with a warning, followed by the granting of a corrective grace period before applying the penalty, in accordance with the type of violation and the nature of its impact, as the correction periods vary according to the observed case, which allows establishments and individuals to complete compliance requirements and address observations before the statutory procedures are completed.
The Ministry stated that the regulation distinguished between serious and non-serious violations in the handling mechanism, as penalties are applied directly to violations with an impact related to safety or public health, or that require urgent intervention, while violations that can be remedied are granted a corrective grace period before the statutory procedure is completed, with a gradual application of penalties upon recurrence of the violation, in accordance with the governing provisions.
It affirmed that this update comes as an extension of its ongoing efforts to develop the municipal monitoring system, through adopting regulatory paths that focus on early remediation, raising the level of compliance, and enhancing awareness of municipal requirements, in a way that contributes to reducing avoidable violations, supports the improvement of the urban environment, and raises the efficiency of the services provided to residents and visitors.
The Ministry called on all establishments to take the initiative to review the approved requirements and controls, address observations, and make use of the corrective grace period whenever it applies, in a way that ensures business continuity and compliance with the approved statutory frameworks.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing had earlier approved updates to the schedule of penalties for municipal violations, which included the addition of a number of new violations related to the updated or new requirements, and also included an update to the provisions of a number of approved violations in a way that aligns with the public interest, within a development path aimed at unifying monitoring and remediation procedures, raising the efficiency of compliance, and enhancing transparency in applying municipal penalties. The schedule can be viewed via the link: https://2u.pw/LM8N9x
