Article 25 of the Saudi Real Estate Unit Ownership, Division and Management Law
المادة 25 من نظام ملكية الوحدات العقارية وفرزها وإدارتها · الفصل الرابع: جمعية الملاك
The article provides that the owners association ends if the number of owners falls below the number needed to form it, unless the remaining owners wish to continue it, and its liability for earlier debts is unaffected.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
ينقضي جمعية الملاك إذا انخفض عدد الملاك عن العدد اللازم لتأسيسها، ما لم يرغب من تبقى من الملاك في استمرار الجمعية وفقاً لأحكام النظام. ولا يؤثر انقضاء الجمعية في مسؤوليتها عن ديونها والتزاماتها السابقة لتاريخ انقضائها.
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 25 explained in plain English
This article explains when the owners association ends and the effect of that:
- Cause of ending: The association ends if the number of owners falls below the number needed to form it. This may happen, for example, if one owner buys other owners' units so that the number of owners shrinks.
- Exception: The association does not end if the remaining owners wish to continue it in accordance with the provisions of the Law. Ending is not inevitable, and the decision rests with the remaining owners.
- Effect of ending on obligations: The ending of the association does not affect its liability for its debts and obligations arising before the date it ended. A party that dealt with the association before it ended, such as a maintenance contractor who was not paid, does not lose his right because of the ending.
This article does not detail liquidation procedures after the ending. It connects to Article 24, which sets the association's resources (owners' contributions, donations, gifts, bequests, endowments and investment returns) and provides that its funds are spent for the purposes of managing the shared property and maintaining the common parts.
Anyone with a claim against an association that has ended, or who owns a unit in a property whose association has ended, would do well to consult a lawyer who specializes in real estate disputes to learn how to claim or what arrangement is suitable.
Practical example
One owner in a building in Qassim gradually bought the other owners' apartments until the number of owners fell below the number needed to form the association. In this case the owners association ends unless the remaining owners wish to continue it. If the association owes a maintenance contractor for earlier work, its ending does not remove its liability for this debt.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 25 of the Saudi Real Estate Unit Ownership, Division and Management Law
When does an owners association end?
When the number of owners falls below the number needed to form it, unless the remaining owners wish to continue it in accordance with the provisions of the Law.
Are an owners association's debts cancelled when it ends?
No. The ending of the association does not affect its liability for its debts and obligations arising before the date it ended.
Can the association continue even though the number of owners has dropped?
Yes, if the remaining owners wish to continue it in accordance with the provisions of the Law.
More articles on Owners' Association
- Article 1
The article defines the Law's basic terms, such as division, the divided real estate unit, common parts, the shared property, the real estate complex, the owners' association, the manager and maintenance.
يقصد بالكلمات والعبارات الآتية - أينما وردت في هذا النظام - المعاني المبينة أمام كل منها، ما لم يقتض السياق غير ذلك: النظام: نظام ملكية الوحدات العقارية وفرزها
- Article 3
The article allows re-dividing the shared property or changing its use with the approval of the general assembly and any mortgagee, with the plan amended, and sets owners' shares in what results from the change.
1- يجوز إعادة فرز العقار المشترك أو جزء منه أو تغيير استعمالاته؛ بعد موافقة الجمعية العامة، وموافقة المرتهن إن وجد. ولا يخل ذلك بحق المتضرر في اللجوء إلى المحكم
- Article 12
The article requires owners of shared property, when there are 3 or more, to form an owners' association and register it with the Authority, gives it legal personality and a separate financial liability, and requires articles of association.
1- إذا بلغ عدد ملاك الوحدات العقارية المفرزة في عقار مشترك ثلاثة فأكثر؛ فعليهم أن يؤسسوا جمعية بينهم لإدارة شؤون ذلك العقار، وتسجيل تلك الجمعية لدى الهيئة، وإذا
- Article 13
The article allows owners of shared properties within a real estate complex to form a "complex association" with independent legal personality, made up of representatives of the owners' associations, to which the owners' association provisions apply as consistent with its nature.
1- للملاك في العقارات المشتركة التي تقع ضمن مجمع عقاري إنشاء جمعية ذات شخصية معنوية مستقلة تسمى (جمعية المجمع)، تضم ممثلاً أو أكثر عن جمعية الملاك في كل عقار مش
- Article 14
The article provides that the owners' association represents the owners in dispositions arising on the common parts.
تعد جمعية الملاك ممثلةً للملاك فيما يتعلق بالتصرفات التي تنشأ على الأجزاء المشتركة.
- Article 15
The article provides that owning a divided unit in a shared property that has an owners' association is acceptance of its articles of association and a commitment to the general assembly's decisions, without prejudice to Article 6.
دون إخلال بحكم المادة (السادسة) من النظام، يعد امتلاك وحدة عقارية مفرزة في عقار مشترك - مؤسس له جمعية ملاك - قبولاً من المالك بالنظام الأساسي، والتزاماً منه بال
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.