Can I own property in Saudi Arabia?

A citizen of Saudi Arabia living abroad: Yes. A Saudi citizen living abroad buys like any citizen. A foreign national: Yes, with conditions. Since 22 January 2026 a non-resident foreigner may own real estate inside the zones the Council of Ministers approves, initially framed around Riyadh and Jeddah under a geographic zones document published in 2026, by applying through the Saudi Properties portal. In Makkah and Madinah ownership is open only to Muslim individuals and Saudi companies. GCC nationals are treated more like citizens.

Does the rent agreement need registering?

Every lease of any length. There is no unregistered residential lease in Saudi Arabia.

Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?

The resident payer: a company tenant, or the broker or manager who collects the rent on the owner's behalf. An individual tenant paying a non-resident individual is rarely set up to withhold, which is one more reason rent flows through a broker. Five percent of the rent, under Article 68 of the Income Tax Law and its regulations, where the payer is a resident paying a non-resident with no permanent establishment.

How does the rent reach me in Germany?

Ejar pays into a Saudi IBAN. A non-resident without one receives through the broker's or manager's account, which is the usual arrangement. No capital controls and no exit tax. The riyal is pegged to the US dollar; banks and exchange houses transfer abroad at their margin. No limit; report a transfer of EUR 50,000 or more to the Bundesbank and show the foreign tax in the return.

Renting out property in Saudi Arabia while living in Germany

Saudi Arabia's rules for a landlord living in Germany: ownership, the rent agreement, who withholds tax, and how the rent reaches you.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your situation may differ. Check the sources on this page and confirm with a lawyer or accountant in the country before you act.

Desk research Last reviewed 1 October 2026 Report an inaccuracy

The short answers

Can I own property in Saudi Arabia?: A citizen of Saudi Arabia living abroad: Yes. A Saudi citizen living abroad buys like any citizen.; A foreign national: Yes, with conditions. Since 22 January 2026 a non-resident foreigner may own real estate inside the zones the Council of Ministers approves, initially framed around Riyadh and Jeddah under a geographic zones document published in 2026, by applying through the Saudi Properties portal. In Makkah and Madinah ownership is open only to Muslim individuals and Saudi companies. GCC nationals are treated more like citizens.
Does the rent agreement need registering?: Every lease of any length. There is no unregistered residential lease in Saudi Arabia.
Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?: The resident payer: a company tenant, or the broker or manager who collects the rent on the owner's behalf. An individual tenant paying a non-resident individual is rarely set up to withhold, which is one more reason rent flows through a broker. Five percent of the rent, under Article 68 of the Income Tax Law and its regulations, where the payer is a resident paying a non-resident with no permanent establishment.
How does the rent reach me in Germany?: Ejar pays into a Saudi IBAN. A non-resident without one receives through the broker's or manager's account, which is the usual arrangement.; No capital controls and no exit tax. The riyal is pegged to the US dollar; banks and exchange houses transfer abroad at their margin.; No limit; report a transfer of EUR 50,000 or more to the Bundesbank and show the foreign tax in the return.

Renting out property in Saudi Arabia

What applies because the property is in Saudi Arabia, whoever owns it.

Who may own residential property

Who may own residential property, by audience
Citizens living in the country	Allowed Anywhere.
Residents of any nationality	With conditions A resident foreigner may own under the new law inside the approved geographic zones, through the Saudi Properties portal, and in Makkah and Madinah only if Muslim. The older route of one residence for personal use on a Ministry of Interior permit continues.
Citizens living abroad	Allowed A Saudi citizen living abroad buys like any citizen.
Foreign nationals living abroad	With conditions Since 22 January 2026 a non-resident foreigner may own real estate inside the zones the Council of Ministers approves, initially framed around Riyadh and Jeddah under a geographic zones document published in 2026, by applying through the Saudi Properties portal. In Makkah and Madinah ownership is open only to Muslim individuals and Saudi companies. GCC nationals are treated more like citizens.

Letting it out from abroad

May a non-resident owner let it: Yes, once the property is lawfully owned. Nothing restricts a non-resident owner from letting, but every step runs on Saudi identity, so a licensed broker or a representative with a Saudi ID does it in practice.
Licences, permits, landlord registration: None for the owner. The broker who registers the lease must hold a licence under the Real Estate Brokerage Law; an unlicensed intermediary cannot use Ejar.
Local agent or representative: In practice yes. Ejar registration, Nafath signing and rent collection through the platform all assume a Saudi or resident identity, so a non-resident owner appoints a licensed broker or a power-of-attorney holder.

The rent agreement

Written agreement required: Yes. Every residential lease must be the Ejar unified contract, registered on the platform; a lease outside Ejar is not heard by the courts.
Mandatory standard form: The Ejar unified rental contract, the only form the platform accepts, with optional annexes.
Language: Arabic, with an English rendering on the platform; Arabic governs.
Registry: Ejar, run by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing with the Ministry of Justice.
When registration is required: Every lease of any length. There is no unregistered residential lease in Saudi Arabia.
Who registers: A licensed real estate broker, on behalf of both parties, who sign through Nafath; the tenant needs a national ID or iqama. A non-resident owner acts through the broker or a representative.
Registration cost: A platform fee of a few hundred riyals per contract, charged by the broker; brokers may add a commission.
If it is not registered: The lease has no legal value before the courts, utilities cannot be connected to it, and the broker is fined for failing to register.
Stamp duty: None. The real estate transaction tax of five percent applies to transfers of ownership, not to leases.
Notarisation and witnesses: Not applicable
E-signature: The lease is signed electronically inside Ejar through Nafath, the national digital identity, which is valid under the Electronic Transactions Law. There is no paper alternative for a registered lease; a party without Nafath signs through a representative who has it.
The usual term: One year, renewed. Rent is quoted and usually paid annually or semi-annually in advance, though Ejar now supports quarterly and monthly schedules.

Rules the agreement must respect

Deposit: No statutory cap. A deposit is common but not universal, recorded in the Ejar contract and returned on handover unless damage is proven.
Rent increases: Not during the contract. Any change is agreed at renewal and recorded in the new Ejar contract.
Notice periods: As the Ejar contract states; the platform's standard terms require notice before the contract ends for either party to decline renewal.
Disputes: An Ejar contract is an executive instrument: unpaid rent or an expired lease goes straight to the Enforcement Court without a lawsuit. A landlord may not evict without a court order and is fined for doing so.
Mandatory disclosures: Not applicable

Tax when the landlord lives abroad

Is the rent taxed here: No personal income tax. A non-resident landlord is instead subject to withholding on the rent paid from Saudi Arabia, which is a final tax.
Withholding at source: Yes
Withholding rate: Five percent of the rent, under Article 68 of the Income Tax Law and its regulations, where the payer is a resident paying a non-resident with no permanent establishment.
Who withholds: The resident payer: a company tenant, or the broker or manager who collects the rent on the owner's behalf. An individual tenant paying a non-resident individual is rarely set up to withhold, which is one more reason rent flows through a broker.
What the tenant must register: The payer files a monthly withholding return with ZATCA and remits by the tenth of the following month.
How to reduce it: Treaty relief where India's treaty or another applies, claimed by the payer on ZATCA's forms. Rent from immovable property is generally left taxable where the property is.
Filing and tax ID: No return for a non-resident individual landlord beyond the withholding the payer files. Zakat and income tax apply to businesses, not to an individual's letting.
VAT or GST on rent: Residential rent is exempt from VAT. Commercial rent carries fifteen percent VAT once the landlord crosses the registration threshold.
Municipal and housing fees: No annual property tax on a built home. The white land tax applies to undeveloped urban land; a transfer carries the five percent real estate transaction tax.

Money inside the country

How tenants pay: Through Ejar's own payment channels, SADAD and Mada, which have been mandatory for residential rent since January 2024; the platform records every payment against the contract.
Currency of rent: SAR
Bank account for a non-resident owner: Ejar pays into a Saudi IBAN. A non-resident without one receives through the broker's or manager's account, which is the usual arrangement.
Paying rent to an overseas account: Not through Ejar, which needs a Saudi IBAN. The broker forwards the net rent abroad.
Taking rent out of the country: No capital controls and no exit tax. The riyal is pegged to the US dollar; banks and exchange houses transfer abroad at their margin.

Living in Germany

What Germany asks of its residents who own and let property abroad.

Owning property abroad from here

Buying abroad: No restriction. A German resident may buy anywhere the other country allows and move money out freely, reporting transfers of EUR 50,000 or more to the Bundesbank.
Reporting foreign assets and accounts: None for property. The AWV statistical report covers the transfers; foreign accounts are not registered.
Tax at home on foreign rent: Germany taxes residents on worldwide income. Under most treaties, India's among them, rent from foreign property is exempt in Germany but raises the rate on other income through the progression clause; a few treaties and non-treaty countries use the credit method instead. Rent from EU property is exempt without the progression clause.
Bringing rent home: No limit; report a transfer of EUR 50,000 or more to the Bundesbank and show the foreign tax in the return.
Digital identity for e-signing: The eID function of the German identity card signs within the EU. Abroad, a foreign platform's own e-signature or a paper signature does the job.

Sources

Real Estate General Authority: the non-Saudi property ownership law enters into force — rega.gov.sa
Real Estate General Authority: questions and answers on the updated law of real estate ownership by non-Saudis — rega.gov.sa
Saudi Press Agency: REGA announces entry into force of the law allowing non-Saudis to own property — www.spa.gov.sa
Ministry of Municipalities and Housing: Ejar, standardised contracts and the rental network — momah.gov.sa
ZATCA: guideline on the VAT exemption of real estate supplies — zatca.gov.sa
Digital Government Authority: the Electronic Transactions Law — dga.gov.sa
ZATCA: withholding tax returns (monthly filing by the payer) — zatca.gov.sa
Income Tax Department of India: the India–Saudi Arabia tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in
German Civil Code (BGB) § 550: written form for a lease over one year — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 551: the deposit cap of three months' rent — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 556d: the rent brake in designated tight markets — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 558: rent increases to the local comparative rent and the cap — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 573c: notice periods — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Income Tax Act (EStG) § 49: German-source income of non-residents — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
EStG § 50: how non-residents are assessed — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Foreign Trade Regulation (AWV) § 67: reporting cross-border payments to the Bundesbank — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Deutsche Bundesbank: external sector reporting — www.bundesbank.de
Federal Ministry of Finance: double taxation agreements — www.bundesfinanzministerium.de