The strategic plan of the Ministry of Municipalities & Housing 2020-2022
Strategy of the Ministry of Municipalities & Housing
Vision 2030 comes with a comprehensive plan and specific objectives that encompass all areas of the municipal and housing sectors to create a vibrant community and build an economy characterized by diversity and sustainability. The Ministry's efforts are united to bring about qualitative shifts in the "municipal" and "housing" sectors to increase the rate of housing ownership to 70% by 2030 and improve the urban landscape by raising the quality of municipal services provided in Saudi cities, according to a sound vision and support of wise leadership and an ambitious nation moving forward in achieving its objectives.
Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing
Spatial planning and urban landscape
- Increasing Visual Attractiveness
- Improving Quality of Life
- Activating Urban Sustainability
- Land and Real Estate Management
- Transparency in Municipal Properties
- Efficiency of Land Management
Infrastructure
- Coverage of infrastructure projects and maintenance
- Project Delivery Efficiency
- Ensuring Quality of Infrastructure Projects
- Cleanliness and Public Health
- Improving Cleanliness Services
- Improving Public Health Services
- Awareness and Enforcement
Supply Stimulation
- Stimulating the Supply of Housing Units
- Promoting Land Availability and Reducing Monopoly
- Increasing Visual Attractiveness
Demand Enablement
Demand Enablement
- Enabling the Most Needy Families to Obtain Housing
- Legislation and Compliance
- Activating Incentives to Increase Compliance
- Developing the Monitoring System
- Legislation Effectiveness
- Improving the Efficiency of the Real Estate Development System
financial sustainability
- Ensuring that revenue from fees and fines is commensurate with the cost of services
- privatization of municipal services
- Developing investment revenues
- Increasing the efficiency of capital and operating expenditures
- Optimal budget planning
Institutional Excellence
- Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Qualified Personnel
- Improving the Level of Institutional Maturity
- Developing Institutional Communication and Raising Awareness of Ministry Services and Products
- Promoting Community Participation and Responsibility
- Activating Innovation in Service Delivery
Digital Transformation and Data
- Digital Transformation and Smart Cities
- Data Utilization
- Improving Beneficiary Experience
Initiatives and Contributions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Advance the Housing Sector
- Listing and documenting lands and real estate units based on a unified cadastral reference and updated topographical maps to speed up the real estate registration.
- Developing the municipal real estate investment system
- Land joint investment agreements
- Develop public benefit markets by operating them by the private sector
- Studying and developing the sites of the invasions and peaceful historical sites in the cities of the guests of Rahman
- Studying and designing a smart cities platform for managing municipal assets in the cities of Guests of Rahman (the integrated cloud center for control and leadership)
- Improving the revenues of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs
- Developing the smart environmental system in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the holy sites
- Studying, establishing and developing pedestrian roads linking the neighborhoods of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the Grand Mosque and the holy sites
- Studying, developing and improving the visual landscape in the cities of Diouf Al-Rahman
- Studying the development of the municipal services system and other services related to rituals for the pilgrims
- Study and development of slums adjacent to the central region in Makkah and Madinah
- Studying, developing and preparing municipal facilities and services to serve the pilgrims
- Establishing a center of excellence for urban design
- Facilitating the procedures for obtaining municipal services, unifying and automating them, and enforcing the electronic link with the relevant authorities
- Developing and operating technical work in the Ministry, secretariats and municipalities
- development of the Farasan Islands
- Development of population density
- Evaluate and treat dangerous sites and prepare existing urban roads with the necessary traffic safety elements
- An integrated policy program for the development of the transport system
- Listing and documenting lands and real estate units based on a unified cadastral reference and updated topographical maps to speed up the real estate registration.
- Developing the municipal real estate investment system
Kingdom's Achievements in the Municipal and Housing Sectors
- Providing Diverse Housing Options and Solutions that Meet the Needs of Saudi Families
The housing programs launched by the Housing Program have provided numerous financing solutions and housing options, which include: ready-made units, self-construction, units under construction, and free residential lands, to enable Saudi families to own their first home.
- Eliminating the Concept of Waiting for Housing Support from 15 Years to Immediate Eligibility
The waiting period for obtaining financing used to reach 15 years from the time of application submission. Now, obtaining real estate financing is immediate, following the launch of the Housing Program and the development of financing solutions and improvement of procedures. Today, a citizen can benefit from housing products and obtain a mortgage loan of up to 500,000 riyals with support reaching up to 100%.
- Growth of Real Estate Financing Contracts and Recording Unprecedented Record Numbers
Enabling citizens to obtain real estate financing immediately from banks and financing institutions without waiting, in addition to providing the necessary guarantees and support through the supported real estate financing product.
- The State Bearing Real Estate Transaction Tax on the First Home
The state bears the real estate transaction tax up to one million riyals of the value of the citizen's first home, which contributes to reducing the financial burden of home ownership.
- Establishing Multiple Entities to Serve and Support the Housing System
The state has established several institutions with the aim of providing support and serving the housing sector and keeping pace with real estate development. These institutions include:
- National Housing Company
- Real Estate General Authority
- Saudi Real Estate Institute
- The Saudi Center for Real Estate Arbitration
Regulating the Rental Sector and Protecting the Rights of Its Parties
Through the launch of the Ejar platform, which aims to develop and regulate the rental sector to protect the rights of landlords, tenants, and real estate brokers, and adopting the unified contract as an enforceable instrument, in order to establish an organized and reliable real estate rental market.
- Developing White Lands
More than 411 million square meters of land in major cities have been targeted for development: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Makkah. A plan has also been put in place to expand the application of fees to 17 other cities.
- Adopting Modern Mechanisms in New Residential Construction
Accelerating the pace of development and contributing to cost reduction, with more than 62,000 residential units being developed according to modern construction methods. A fully integrated home was successfully built using 3D printing technology, for the first time in the Middle East, as one of the future options for building homes.
Launching the Real Estate Project (Roshan)
A national real estate development company fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, working to develop integrated residential neighborhoods that provide a modern lifestyle according to the highest standards for the Kingdom's citizens.
Programs of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing
The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has achieved comprehensive digital transformation in all fields, promoting digitalization and achieving the Ministry's strategic objectives in the municipal and housing sectors according to a sustainable digital system aimed at reaching leading services for smart and innovative digital cities that provide a prosperous life for customers, developing new business models and innovative customer journeys, enabling investment opportunities from data and services, and raising the level of customer satisfaction and participation, in addition to providing unified and reliable data to improve the flexibility and efficiency of the digital system.
Municipal Programs
The National Portal for the Municipal Community
The "Balady" portal was developed in collaboration with various municipal sector entities to serve as the national portal supporting the municipal community. It includes all digital services that facilitate the submission of digital requests for issuing the most commonly used licenses, alongside informational services that help beneficiaries make relevant decisions, which contributes to improving the level of satisfaction with municipal sector entities. This achieves a main objective: improving the quality of municipal services provided in all municipal authorities and municipalities throughout the Kingdom and activating the role of beneficiaries as active partners, while improving their satisfaction levels and promoting transparency among municipal sector entities. Municipal Investment Portal: In an effort to provide a unified database that serves as the main reference for investors seeking investment opportunities offered by municipal authorities and municipalities, which have a significant impact on the development of cities and villages throughout the Kingdom. The Ministry designed the "Foras" portal using modern and advanced technology, which provides numerous advantages, most notably the ease of searching and viewing diverse opportunities with minimal time and effort, without the burden of traveling to the offices of municipal authorities and municipalities to learn about them. Investors can benefit from the services provided with the click of a button through the website or smartphone applications, including purchasing tender documents and signing contracts digitally.
The portal also provides viable and diverse investment opportunities in activity, size, and location that contribute to the development and improvement of cities and villages throughout the Kingdom, making the "Foras" platform a modern portal that facilitates access to all necessary details for making an investment decision.
- Sakani Program
In an effort to provide numerous housing solutions to citizens and facilitate the decision to own a first home, the government launched the "Sakani" platform by offering diverse real estate units in Sakani projects spread throughout the Kingdom, which can be owned through flexible payment systems. This platform represents a major step in the real estate field and an opportunity for developers to establish multiple projects, which contributes to stimulating the real estate market and promoting the national economy in the Kingdom.
- rental program
In order to raise the efficiency of the real estate rental sector and enhance confidence in it, the Ministry launched the (Ejar) platform, which is an integrated electronic network that aims to regulate the real estate rental sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and preserve the rights of the parties to the rental process (tenant, landlord, real estate broker). A set of electronic solutions that contribute to the development, organization and facilitation of the real estate rental sector, in order to achieve balance in the sector and contribute to stimulating investment in it.
- Ejar Program
With the aim of improving the efficiency of the real estate rental sector and promoting confidence in it, the Ministry launched the "Ejar" platform, which is an integrated digital network aimed at regulating the real estate rental sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and protecting the rights of parties in the rental transaction (tenants, landlords, and real estate brokers). The "Ejar" platform offers a range of digital solutions that contribute to developing the real estate rental sector and facilitating its operations, achieving balance, and contributing to stimulating investment in it.
- Etmam Platform
The Kingdom has given attention to improving the performance of the real estate sector and increasing its contribution to the gross domestic product, so it launched the Developer Services Center (Etmam platform), which aims to facilitate the procedures for conducting real estate development operations through excellence in providing one-stop services for real estate developers, to become an integrated digital platform that works to accelerate the approval and authorization processes for real estate development with stakeholders and provide integrated consulting solutions for real estate developers, which effectively contributes to the development of the real estate development sector.
- Mulak Program
A program that enables property owners to establish an association comprising all owners of residential units with shared common areas, which facilitates access to services, communication, and management of the property. The program aims to manage buildings with shared common areas and create a healthy and organized residential environment that provides quality of life, well-being, and shared comfort in the long term. This is achieved through the program's commitment to organizing relationships between owners of real estate units with shared ownership by developing and implementing approved regulations and bylaws.
- Wafi Program
It is the entity authorized by regulation to issue licenses for the practice of selling real estate units on the map in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and issue registration certificates for real estate development companies in the register of real estate developers with the aim of protecting citizens' rights. The "Wafi" program thus becomes a trusted incubator for real estate sector investments in the Kingdom, protecting the achievement of beneficiary satisfaction and preserving their entitlements by regulating the activity of selling and leasing on the map in the real estate market.
- Cooperative Housing
The Cooperative Housing Program is one of the initiatives of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which aims to organize and stimulate the sector of cooperative associations with housing purposes to contribute to providing affordable housing units by establishing and developing the legal foundations for cooperative housing, building the capacity of cooperative associations, and raising awareness. This is done in the context of achieving a set of objectives: promoting the culture of cooperative housing, stimulating and enabling cooperative housing associations, contributing to reducing the cost of home ownership, developing the regulatory and legislative environment for cooperative housing associations, and stimulating real estate supply and increasing productivity to provide cooperative housing products at appropriate prices and quality.
- Developmental Housing
The Developmental Housing Program seeks to provide housing units for the most needy families in society among the beneficiaries of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development "Social Security" who have a complete application in the "Iskan" housing support portal. Housing units are provided to these families through multiple options, including: Ministry housing units available in all regions of the Kingdom, construction of new housing units, or through direct purchase of suitable and available housing units. To ensure rapid fulfillment of family needs, partnership agreements have been concluded with approximately 300 civil society organizations in all provinces of the Kingdom to undertake the tasks of communication, visiting families, supporting them in identifying suitable housing, following up on delivery, and managing and operating housing units.
Sustainable Construction
The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing seeks to develop a number of solutions and initiatives that contribute to achieving its objectives in increasing the rate of citizen home ownership and regulating the real estate sector. Accordingly, the Ministry has launched the "Sustainable Construction" platform, which aims to provide a number of services that contribute to the sustainability of housing units as follows:
Building Quality Inspection: The building receives an official certificate of implementation quality after applying a quality mechanism for building execution works through certified inspectors and after passing all inspection stages.
Ready-Made Building Inspection: A mechanism for inspecting the quality of existing buildings through certified inspectors, whereby a detailed report is issued regarding the condition of the residential unit.
Building Sustainability Assessment: To assess the building's compliance with environmental sustainability standards. According to the assessment, the building receives a rating that determines the degree of the building's commitment to sustainability standards.
Contractor Quality Compliance Classification Inspection Service: Enables contractors to obtain a report that clarifies the extent of contractors' compliance with quality and safety standards to preserve the urban landscape.
- Partnership program
The Partnership Program with the Private Sector (Sharakat) is the new strategy of the Ministry of Housing to create a vital partnership with the private sector to provide housing solutions and products that are compatible with the needs of citizens at competitive, subsidized prices. Its goals and strategy revolve around; Researching and studying agreements between the government and the private sectors, exchanging experiences and available assets between the two parties, providing the most appropriate services and products to achieve public benefit, approving the eligibility to participate in risks and resources, examining ways and means that can respond to the increasing housing demands and demands, finding optimal and appropriate housing products For the needs of the citizen, providing all the products that suit the Saudi citizen at a price that is commensurate with his income, and providing all this and more with the utmost quality.
- Saudi Real Estate Institute
The Saudi Real Estate Institute is one of the initiatives of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030, as it forms the first specialized educational entity in the field of real estate sciences in the Kingdom, in collaboration with local and international partners and expertise houses in the real estate field. The Institute specializes in disseminating best international practices in the real estate sector and is considered the academic arm of the General Real Estate Authority, providing training and qualification for professionals practicing in the Saudi real estate sector and awarding professional certificates that enable them to enter the job market with high efficiency, given the importance of the real estate sector as the largest non-oil economic sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- Modern Construction Initiative
The Modern Construction Methods initiative was launched as part of the housing system to establish the basic foundations for supporting the transition from traditional construction to modern construction and investing in advanced technologies to keep pace with industrial development and promote the Kingdom's leadership in this field. This is done with the aim of enabling citizens to find a home that meets aspirations in record time with high quality and competitive costs. The initiative is overseen by both the Housing Program and the National Industry and Logistics Development Program with support from the Private Sector Stimulus Plan, to ensure implementation according to the aspirations of the nation and its citizens.
- Value Added Tax for the First Home
Royal Decree No. (A/86) dated 18/4/1439 AH stipulated that the state shall bear the value added tax for no more than 850,000 riyals of the purchase price of the citizen's first home, in order to reduce the cost of owning an appropriate home for citizens.
Real Estate Development Fund
In an effort to achieve integration with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing to implement its programs related to beneficiaries and work professionally and skillfully to provide effective financing and investment solutions that enable segments of society to obtain appropriate housing, the Real Estate Development Fund was launched with the aim of providing and innovating diverse and balanced financing programs to suit all segments of society, and to support real estate financing and investment through effective partnership with both public and private sectors, in addition to increasing the supply of housing products in quantity and quality and ensuring the quality of the housing product and appropriate delivery period.
Housing 2030 Program
The Housing Program works to provide housing solutions and financing options to enable Saudi families to own appropriate homes, either through ownership or usufruct, according to their needs and financial capabilities, while simultaneously increasing the supply of housing options that are implemented at appropriate prices, in less time, and with high quality. It also provides specialized housing programs for the most needy segments of society and develops the legislative and regulatory environment for the housing sector in order to increase its economic impact and promote its attractiveness to the private sector and develop local content, which contributes to creating job opportunities in the sector and promoting its participation in the gross domestic product.
Achievements of the Housing Program
- The Housing Program achieved the target of reaching 60% home ownership rate in 2020 compared to 47% in 2016, while continuing to support Saudi families to own or benefit from their first home.
- Immediate financing and housing solutions were provided, benefiting more than 834,000 families, with more than 310,000 families moving into their homes.
- More than 46,000 housing units were provided in all regions of the Kingdom for the most needy families, and the "Jood" platform supported more than 23,000 families with contributions exceeding 400 million riyals.
- More than 62,000 housing units were developed using modern construction technologies, and white land fees were applied to more than 400 million square meters with revenues exceeding 1.4 billion riyals to support the development of infrastructure for housing projects.
- More than 141,000 housing units were provided through partnerships with developers and banks, and the number of real estate loans increased from 20,000 contracts in 2016 to 295,000 in 2020, and the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company was launched.
- The real estate and construction sectors contributed 115 billion riyals to the gross domestic product (2018–2020), with more than 39,000 direct jobs and non-governmental investments exceeding 254 billion riyals in 2020.
- Ownership procedures were facilitated through the "Sakani" application, which recorded more than 7.2 million downloads, and through the Real Estate Advisor service, which benefited 800,000 individuals.
- plete the procedures for the beneficiaries in one visit.
- Twenty-five model engineering designs were provided with immediate issuance of building permits to reduce pre-construction procedures and lower costs.
- Comprehensive Sakani centers were established and operated in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Khobar to facilitate beneficiaries' access to housing solutions under one roof.
- The housing sector successfully achieved its targets in 2020, with the home ownership rate rising to 62%, while the rental housing rate decreased to 35.49%.
Archive of Ministry Strategies
To review the Ministry's strategy for 2018–2020, click here
To review the Ministry's strategy for 2016–2018, click here
