Article 1 of the Saudi Real Estate Authority Statute

This is the definitions article, and it sets the meaning of the terms wherever they appear in the Statute unless the context requires otherwise:

• The Minister: the Minister of Housing.
• The Authority: the General Authority for Real Estate.
• The Board: the Authority's Board of Directors, and the Chairman: the Chairman of the Board.
• The CEO: the Authority's Chief Executive Officer. This definition replaced the definition "the Governor: the Authority's Governor" by Council of Ministers Resolution No. (426) dated 5/8/1443 AH.
• The Statute: the Authority's Statute.
• The license: a document issued by the Authority authorizing its holder to engage in one or more of the real estate activities.
• Real estate activities: work or a set of works carried out to provide specified real estate products, including: real estate development, real estate offerings, off-plan sales, and providing brokerage services in selling, buying or leasing real estate.

The definitions of license and real estate activities are what matter most to the public and investors; the license is the document that authorizes its holder to engage in one or more of these activities, and the Authority issues it. Article 2 adds that the Authority has legal personality and financial and administrative independence, and its main headquarters is in Riyadh. The word "including" indicates that the activities mentioned are examples, not an exhaustive list.

Note that this Statute sets the Authority's jurisdiction for licensing and does not itself contain the conditions for obtaining a license for each activity. Anyone who needs to know the requirements of a particular real estate activity would do well to consult a lawyer specializing in real estate cases.