Article 44 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
المادة 44 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الأول: أركان العقد أولًا: الرضى
Paying earnest money gives only the payer the right to withdraw from the contract without recovering it, unless otherwise agreed; the court sets the withdrawal period if the parties have not.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1- دفع العربون عند إبرام العقد يفيد أن لدافع العربون وحده الحق في العدول عن العقد، وليس له إذا عدل أن يسترد مبلغ العربون، وذلك كله ما لم يتفق على خلافه.
2- إذا لم يعين المتعاقدان مدة العدول عينتها المحكمة بحسب العرف وظروف العقد.
3- يعد سكوت دافع العربون حتى مضي المدة أو عدم تنفيذ ما التزم به خلالها عدولًا منه عن العقد.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 44 explained in plain English
This article regulates earnest money paid when a contract is concluded, and sets out its effect in three paragraphs:
Paragraph 1: paying earnest money indicates that only the payer of the earnest money has the right to withdraw from the contract. If the payer withdraws, the payer may not recover the amount of the earnest money. All of this applies unless otherwise agreed; the parties may agree otherwise.
Paragraph 2: if the contracting parties have not specified the withdrawal period, the court sets it according to custom and the circumstances of the contract.
Paragraph 3: either of two things is treated as withdrawal from the contract by the payer of the earnest money:
- staying silent until the period has passed.
- not performing what the payer undertook within the period.
Note that the text gives the right of withdrawal to the payer of the earnest money alone, and does not give the party who received the earnest money a similar right, unless otherwise agreed. The article does not address what happens to the earnest money if the contract is performed.
This article is connected to Article 43, which regulates the promise to conclude a future contract and the conditions for it to be binding, and to Article 45, which defines the framework agreement as a contract in which the contracting parties set the basic terms of the contracts they create between them.
If you have a dispute over earnest money you paid or received, consult a lawyer who specializes in civil cases.
Practical example
Yousef paid earnest money of SAR 5,000 to a car showroom in Jeddah when concluding a contract to buy a car, with no agreement departing from the rules in the article and no withdrawal period specified. Then he decided not to buy. He has the right to withdraw from the contract, but he does not recover the earnest money, and because the withdrawal period was not specified, the court sets it according to custom and the circumstances of the contract.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 44 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
Can I get my earnest money back if I back out?
No. If the payer of the earnest money withdraws from the contract, the payer may not recover the amount of the earnest money, unless otherwise agreed.
Can the party who received the earnest money back out of the contract?
The text gives the right of withdrawal to the payer of the earnest money alone, unless otherwise agreed.
What is the withdrawal period after paying earnest money?
The contracting parties set it; if they have not, the court sets it according to custom and the circumstances of the contract.
When is the payer of earnest money considered to have withdrawn from the contract?
If the payer stays silent until the period has passed or does not perform what the payer undertook within the period.
More articles on Elements of the Contract
- Article 11
The article allows a chosen domicile to be adopted for a particular act, serving as the domicile for everything relating to it unless expressly limited, and requires writing to prove it.
1- يجوز اتخاذ موطنٍ مختارٍ لعملٍ معيَّن، ويكون هو الموطن لكل ما يتعلق بهذا العمل؛ ما لم يُشترط صراحةً قصر هذا الموطن على أعمالٍ دون أخرى. 2- لا يجوز إثبات وجود
- Article 30
The article provides that the rules of the contract chapter apply to named and unnamed contracts, without prejudice to the legal provisions that regulate contracts of a special nature.
تطبق الأحكام الواردة في هذا الفصل على العقود المسماة وغير المسماة، وذلك دون إخلال بالأحكام الواردة في النصوص النظامية التي تنظم عقودًا ذات طبيعة خاصة.
- Article 31
A contract arises when one party's offer is joined to the other's acceptance to produce a legal effect, subject to the particular forms the legal provisions set for the formation of certain contracts.
ينشأ العقد بارتباط الإيجاب بالقبول لإحداث أثر نظامي، مع مراعاة ما تقرره النصوص النظامية من أوضاعٍ معيّنةٍ لانعقاد العقد.
- Article 32
Consent in a contract is achieved when the wills of two or more contracting parties who have capacity to contract coincide and the will is expressed by what indicates it.
يتحقق الرضى إذا توافقت إرادتا متعاقدين (أو أكثر) لديهما أهلية التعاقد وعُبِّر عن الإرادة بما يدل عليها.
- Article 33
Offer and acceptance may be by anything that indicates the will: words, writing, an understood gesture or mutual exchange, explicit or implicit, unless the legal provisions, the agreement or the nature of the transaction require otherwise.
1- يكون الإيجاب والقبول بكل ما يدل على الإرادة. 2- يجوز أن يكون التعبير عن الإرادة باللفظ أو بالكتابة أو بالإشارة المفهومة أو بالمعاطاة، وأن يكون صريحًا أو ضمني
- Article 34
Displaying goods and services with their price stated is an offer, and an advertisement with the prevailing prices is not an offer, unless there are indications to the contrary in either case.
1- يعد عرض البضائع والخدمات مع بيان ثمنها إيجابًا، إلا إذا قامت دلائل تفيد خلاف ذلك. 2- لا يعدُّ الإعلان مع بيان الأسعار المتعامل بها إيجابًا، إلا إذا قامت دلائ
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.