Article 18 of the Saudi Real Estate Investment Schemes Law
المادة 18 من نظام المساهمات العقارية · الفصل الثالث: إدارة المساهمة العقارية
The article requires the licensee to appoint a certified accountant and an engineering consultant for each scheme, and refers their conditions, responsibilities and way of working to the Implementing Regulations.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يجب على المرخص له تعيين محاسب قانوني واستشاري هندسي لكل مساهمة عقارية. وتحدد اللائحة شروط ومتطلبات ومسؤوليات ومهمات وآلية عمل كل منهما وما يترتب عليه، فيما يتعلق بالمساهمات العقارية.
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 18 explained in plain English
This article requires the licensee to appoint two specialists for each real estate investment scheme:
- A certified accountant, whose role usually relates to the financial side of the scheme.
- An engineering consultant, whose role usually relates to the technical side of the project.
The obligation applies to each scheme; if the licensee has more than one scheme, each one needs both appointments.
The details are referred by the article to the Implementing Regulations, namely:
- The conditions and requirements for each of them.
- Their responsibilities and duties.
- Their way of working.
- What is required of each of them in relation to real estate investment schemes.
So this article alone does not allow us to say exactly what the accountant or the consultant must do; the Implementing Regulations must be consulted.
This obligation is connected to Article 19, which provides that the scheme manager is appointed by the licensee, and to Article 17, which gives the scheme its legal personality when the license is issued.
Anyone who wants to know the requirements for these two appointments in a particular scheme can consult a lawyer specializing in real estate cases.
Practical example
A company in Dammam has two real estate investment schemes: the first for a residential plan and the second for a commercial center. Under Article 18 it must appoint a certified accountant and an engineering consultant for each of the two schemes, according to the conditions set by the Implementing Regulations.
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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Lawyers who handle this kind of case
Dr. Ali Al-Rubaie Law Office and Ittihad Al-Asr Legal Company
Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Qarawi Law and Notary Office, Riyadh
Frequently asked questions about Article 18 of the Saudi Real Estate Investment Schemes Law
Must a real estate investment scheme have a certified accountant?
Yes. The licensee must appoint a certified accountant and an engineering consultant for each real estate investment scheme.
Who appoints the certified accountant and the engineering consultant?
The licensee is the party obliged to appoint them.
Where are the duties of the accountant and the consultant set out?
The Implementing Regulations set out their conditions, requirements, responsibilities, duties and way of working.
More articles on Obligations of the Licensee
- Article 5
The article requires the licensee to be qualified and classified by the Authority to carry on real estate investment scheme activity, as the regulations specify.
يجب أن يكون المرخص له مؤهلاً ومصنفاً من الهيئة لممارسة نشاط المساهمات العقارية وفقاً لما تحدده اللائحة.
- Article 11
The article makes a scheme's net assets owned by the scheme and bars creditors of participants, the licensee and the scheme manager from any right in its funds or assets except what they own in shares.
يكون صافي أصول المساهمة العقارية من أصول ثابتة نقدية وعينية أو حقوق لدى الغير؛ مملوكة للمساهمة العقارية. وليس لدائني المساهمين أو المرخص له أو مدير المساهمة الع
- Article 12
The article requires the licensee's percentage in the scheme to be no less than the regulations specify and held until the scheme ends, and allows other participants to dispose of their shares under the regulations' conditions.
1- يجب ألا تقل نسبة المرخص له في المساهمة العقارية عن النسبة التي تحددها اللائحة، وأن يحتفظ لنفسه بملكية هذه النسبة حتى انقضاء المساهمة العقارية. 2- يجوز لبقية
- Article 13
The article makes the licensee responsible for everything connected with the scheme toward the participant, the Authority, the Capital Market Authority, relevant government bodies and third parties, and refers the licensee's powers and limits of responsibility to the regulations.
يكون المرخص له هو المسؤول عن جميع ما يتعلق بالمساهمة العقارية تجاه المساهم والهيئة وهيئة السوق المالية وأي من الجهات الحكومية ذات العلاقة والغير. وتحدد اللائحة
- Article 14
The article requires the licensee, subject to Article 19, to supervise the scheme manager's work and enable the manager to carry out its duties.
مع مراعاة ما نصت عليه المادة (التاسعة عشرة) من النظام، على المرخص له الالتزام بالإشراف على أعمال مدير المساهمة العقارية، وتمكينه من القيام بواجباته.
- Article 15
The article requires the licensee to open an escrow account in the scheme's name at a licensed bank, with controls set by the Authority in coordination with the Saudi Central Bank.
يفتح المرخص له حساب ضمان في أحد البنوك المرخص لها باسم المساهمة العقارية. وتضع الهيئة بالتنسيق مع البنك المركزي السعودي الضوابط اللازمة لحساب الضمان.
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.