Article 715 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law

المادة 715 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الرابع: حق الارتفاق أولًا: إنشاء حق الارتفاق

If the burdened property is divided, the easement remains on each part, and the owner of a part on which the right is not used and cannot be used may ask to end it for his part.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

إذا جزئ العقار المـُرتَفَقُ به بقي حق الارتفاق على كل جزء منه، وإذا كان غير مستعمل في الواقع على بعض أجزاء العقار المـُرتَفَقِ به ولا يمكن أن يستعمل عليها، فلمالك كل جزء منها أن يطلب إنهاء هذا الحق من الجزء الذي يخصه.

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 715 explained in plain English

After Article 714 addressed the division of the benefiting property, this Article addresses the opposite case: division of the property that bears the easement (the burdened property).

The rule: if the burdened property is divided, the easement right remains on each part of it.
The exception: if the easement right is not actually used on some parts of the property, and cannot be used on them, the owner of each such part may ask to end the right on the part that belongs to him.

Note that the exception requires both conditions together: the right is not actually used on the part, and its use there is not possible. It is not enough that it is not currently used if its use is possible.

The difference between the two Articles: in Article 714 the owner of the burdened property asks to end the right for parts of the benefiting property that do not benefit from it, whereas in Article 715 the owner of a part of the burdened property asks to end the right on his part.

It is followed by Article 716, which lists the cases in which an easement right ends, including the expiry of its term or the disappearance of its subject, and the two properties coming into the hands of one owner.

Anyone buying part of a land that bears an easement right would do well to check the location of the right and to consult a lawyer specializing in real estate and civil matters.

Practical example

A neighbor's road passes through only the eastern side of a plot in Riyadh, and the plot is then divided into two. The right of way remains on each plot as a rule, but if the western plot is one on which the right is not actually used and cannot be used, its owner may ask to end the right on his plot.

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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