Article 1 of the Saudi Law of Real Estate Development Fund

This is the definitions Article, and it explains the meaning of the terms used in the Law wherever they appear, unless the context requires otherwise. The most important of what it contains:

• The Minister and the Ministry: the Minister of Housing and the Ministry of Housing.
• The Board: the Fund's board of directors, the Chairman: the Board's chairman, and the Chief Executive Officer: the Fund's Chief Executive Officer.
• Beneficiary: someone who has a loan application with the Fund or the Ministry and whose application has been approved, or any other loan application lists approved by the board of directors. Merely submitting the application is not enough under the definition; approval must be issued, or the person must enter lists approved by the Board.
• Financing entities: banks and finance companies licensed to carry on real estate finance activity in the Kingdom.
• Subsidized real estate loan: a residential real estate finance program the Fund provides to the beneficiary through financing entities, whose profits are subsidized by the Fund fully or partially, through contracts concluded for this purpose.
• Financing: what the Fund provides of direct or subsidized real estate loans, or of guarantees to real estate developers and financing entities.
• Products and initiatives: the programs and types of financing the Fund approves to enable the beneficiary to obtain housing.
• Guarantees: the mortgages the Fund accepts, and the letters of guarantee it issues and by virtue of which a direct credit right arises in favor of the financing contract.
• The Regulations: the Implementing Regulations of the Law.

Understanding these definitions is essential to reading the rest of the articles; Article 2, for example, sets out the Fund's legal personality and its link to the National Development Fund.

To assess a particular situation with the Fund, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in real estate and real estate finance matters.