Article 13 of the Saudi Real Estate Registration Law
المادة 13 من نظام التسجيل العيني للعقار · الفصل الخامس: تسجيل التصرفات العقارية
The article requires registration of every dealing after first in rem registration that creates, transfers, changes or extinguishes a real right, and these rights are not effective without registration.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تسجل في السجل العقاري جميع التصرفات اللاحقة للتسجيل العيني الأول للعقار، والتي من شأنها إنشاء أي من الحقوق العينية الأصلية أو التبعية أو نقله أو تغييره أو زواله، أو تعديل بيانات العقار، وكذلك الأحكام النهائية المثبتة لشيء من ذلك، ولا تكون تلك الحقوق نافذة ومنتجة لآثارها القضائية والإدارية إلا بهذا التسجيل. ويدخل في تلك التصرفات القسمة العقارية والوصية والوقف والإرث والرهن والمنح ونحوها.
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 13 explained in plain English
Once a property has been registered in first in rem registration, this article becomes the rule for everything that subsequently happens to it. It requires the following to be registered in the real estate register:
- All dealings that create, transfer, change or extinguish any principal or ancillary real rights.
- Dealings that lead to amending the property's data.
- Final judgments establishing any of this.
The article gives examples of such dealings: real estate partition, wills, waqf (endowment), inheritance, mortgage and grants and the like. A sale is a clear example of a dealing that transfers ownership.
The important effect: These rights are not effective or productive of their judicial and administrative effects except by registration. Someone who bought a property registered in rem and did not register the purchase does not obtain these effects until registration is completed.
Article 14 complements this provision for lease contracts and documented obligations on the use of the property where their term is 10 years or more, which must be annotated in the register. As for properties outside the real estate zone, Article 12 allows their owners to apply to register them as the Regulations specify.
Anyone with an unregistered dealing or a dispute about its effect would do well to consult a lawyer specialized in real estate matters, and in matters of inheritance and wills may also need a lawyer specialized in personal status.
Practical example
Nasser bought an apartment in Jeddah registered in rem and paid the seller the price. Under this article, the sale must be registered in the real estate register, and his right in the apartment is not effective and productive of its judicial and administrative effects until it is registered. Likewise, if the owner of a registered property dies, the transfer of ownership by inheritance is also registered in the register.
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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Active contributorFrequently asked questions about Article 13 of the Saudi Real Estate Registration Law
Is the sale of a property effective without registration in the real estate register?
After first in rem registration, the rights arising from dealings that must be registered are not effective and productive of their judicial and administrative effects except by registering them.
Must inheritance and wills be registered in the real estate register?
Yes. The article lists real estate partition, wills, waqf, inheritance, mortgage and grants among the dealings that are registered.
Are court judgments relating to the property registered?
Yes. Final judgments establishing the creation, transfer, change or extinction of a real right, or the amendment of the property's data, are registered.
More articles on Registering Real Estate Transactions
- Article 14
The article requires lease contracts and documented obligations on the use of a property to be annotated in the real estate register where their term is 10 years or more, and they are not effective without the annotation.
يجب التأشير بجميع عقود الإيجار والالتزامات الموثقة نظاماً التي ترد على منفعة العقار إذا كانت مدتها (عشر) سنوات فأكثر، والأحكام النهائية المثبتة لشيء من ذلك، في
- Article 15
The article obliges the relevant bodies to supply the real estate register with the facts of property owners' deaths and the deeds establishing their heirs, by a mechanism agreed with the competent authority.
تقوم الجهات المعنية -وفق آلية تتفق عليها الجهة المختصة مع كل منها- بتزويد السجل العقاري بوقائع وفاة ملاك العقارات وصكوك حصر ورثتهم.
- Article 26
The article gives a person harmed by the registration of real estate dealings the right to go to the competent court to claim compensation from whoever caused the harm.
للمتضرر من تسجيل التصرفات العقارية حق التقدم للمحكمة المختصة بطلب التعويض من المتسبب فيه.
- Article 27
The article allows the holder of a usufruct right over a property to register a dealing in that right in the real estate register without the property owner's permission, unless otherwise agreed.
لصاحب حق الانتفاع على العقار تسجيل التصرف فيه في السجل العقاري دون إذن مالك العقار، ما لم يُتفق على غير ذلك.
- Article 28
The article provides that each separate real estate unit in a jointly owned property has its own title registration deed, and that the joint ownership documents specified by the Regulations must be registered.
1- يكون لكل وحدة عقارية مفرزة واقعة في عقار مشترك، صك تسجيل ملكية خاص بها. 2- يجب تسجيل وثائق الملكية المشتركة التي تحددها اللائحة في السجل العقاري.
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.