Renting a Home in Saudi Arabia: The Ejar Contract Guide

Oct 27, 2026•4 min read

Finding a home is one of the first big tasks for anyone settling into life in Saudi Arabia, and the single most important document in the process is your Ejar rental contract. Ejar is the Kingdom's electronic rental network that documents residential leases using a standardized Unified Lease Contract. Once registered, that contract becomes an enforceable instrument before Saudi judicial and enforcement authorities, protecting both the tenant and the landlord. This guide from سعودي ليفنج walks you through how the system works, what it costs, and what to check before you sign.

What Ejar Is and Why It Matters

Ejar standardizes rental agreements so there is a single, verified record of the deal. Instead of a handwritten or informal paper contract, the lease is created digitally, its details are confirmed electronically, and both parties approve it online. The practical benefit is protection: because the registered contract is enforceable before the courts and enforcement bodies, you have a clear legal basis if a dispute arises over rent, the deposit, or the term.

To use Ejar, both the landlord and tenant need an eligible identity: a Saudi national ID or a valid resident ID (Iqama). Identity details are verified electronically through the National Information Center, so the people named on the contract are confirmed to be who they say they are.

What Goes Into the Contract

The landlord, tenant, and (where used) the broker each enter verified identity details and mobile numbers, along with the full terms of the lease. The contract captures:

Property information and the parties' details
Lease start and end dates, entered in years, months, or days
Rent amount and the payment schedule
Security deposit and the utilities arrangement
The landlord's or authorized representative's IBAN for rent payments

Ejar automatically calculates the end date and the total contract value once you enter the term. Payment schedules are flexible — they can be one-time, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual — so you can match payments to how you budget.

Fees: What You Actually Pay

Two costs commonly come up when you register a lease:

Ejar documentation fee: SAR 125 Partial years are rounded up, so a lease of 18 months is charged as two years. This fee may be assigned to the landlord or the licensed brokerage office.
Broker commission: if a licensed real-estate broker is involved, the commission must not exceed 2.5% of the first year's rent. The parties agree between themselves who pays it.

When a contract is created, the documentation fee is reserved while approval is pending, and it is refunded if the contract is rejected. Always confirm the current fee rules on the official Ejar network before you commit.

How the Contract Gets Approved

The process is designed to be reviewed by both sides before anything is final:

The landlord or broker creates the contract in Ejar, reviews the brokerage agreement, pays the documentation fee, and submits it for electronic approval.
The tenant reviews the rent, dates, property details, payment schedule, deposit, utilities, and other terms, then approves.

Read every line before approving — once you accept, you are agreeing to enforceable terms. A tenant may also request registration of a rental contract. In that case the landlord can object to the contract data within 60 days of being notified; if no objection is raised, the data is treated as accurate.

Rent, Increases, and Renewals

Rent is set by agreement between landlord and tenant, subject to the applicable Saudi rental controls. Any increase during the contract must be agreed between both parties under the contract terms — a landlord cannot simply raise it unilaterally mid-term.

Automatic renewal generally applies to existing and new leases unless it is excluded under the applicable rules. A few practical points to keep in mind:

Outside designated areas, a landlord normally must give at least 60 days' notice of non-renewal.
Permitted grounds for non-renewal include unpaid rent, approved safety-related structural defects, personal use by the landlord or a first-degree relative, and other officially approved grounds.
If automatic renewal is being processed, the landlord must pay the applicable renewal fee before the 60-day period preceding the contract's expiry.

Where to Go and What to Confirm

The official channels are the Ejar electronic network and the Real Estate General Authority, with identity verification handled through the National Information Center. Before signing, double-check the property details, the IBAN rent will be paid into, the deposit terms, and who is responsible for utilities. Because fees and specific rules can change, always confirm the latest figures and procedures on the official Ejar platform rather than relying on informal advice.

Done properly, an Ejar contract turns renting into a transparent, documented arrangement that protects you throughout your stay in the Kingdom.

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