Al Akaria Riyadh Land Cleared for Development

A Riyadh land holding belonging to Al Akaria has been cleared for development and is now described as returning to a strategic development asset, at a time when new fee rules are reshaping how idle land and vacant units are treated across the capital.

The company's latest disclosed white land tax exposure stands at SAR 61,644,472.71. This total splits into SAR 56,806,511.81 charged at the 10% rate and SAR 4,837,960.90 at the 2.5% rate. The affected area is 487.84 thousand square meters in Riyadh, equal to 4.65% of Al Akaria's total land portfolio in the city.

The white land fee applies to landowners whose plot area, or total owned area, exceeds 5,000 square meters inside the announced Riyadh zones. The fee brackets are 10%, 7.5%, 5%, 2.5%, and 0% for land outside priority zones, though outside-zone land is still counted within the taxpayer's total city holdings. The first Riyadh white land invoice began issuing from January 1, 2026, with a payment grace period of one Gregorian year from the invoice date.

Under the rules, construction on white land must start within one year, and completion with an occupation certificate must occur within three years. Separately, the Vacant Property Fees executive regulations were approved on May 13, 2026, and apply to ready-to-use residential and commercial units that remain unused for six months in the reference year. That fee can reach up to 5% of building value and may be extended to 10%.

For residents and investors, the shifting framework signals stronger pressure to bring undeveloped land and empty units into active use — a move aimed at expanding available supply in Riyadh's fast-growing property market.

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