Article 31 of the Saudi Registered Real Estate Mortgage Law
المادة 31 من نظام الرهن العقاري المسجل
The article refers the procedures for compulsory expropriation and sale of the mortgaged property, when the debt is not paid, to the Enforcement Law.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تتم إجراءات النزع الجبري لملكية العقار المرهون وبيعه عند عدم الوفاء بالدين وفقًا لنظام التنفيذ.
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 31 explained in plain English
This article sets out the framework within which a mortgaged property is sold when the debtor does not pay the debt secured by the mortgage: the procedures for compulsory expropriation of the mortgaged property and its sale are carried out in accordance with the Enforcement Law.
This means that this law does not lay down detailed steps for a compulsory sale but refers them to the Enforcement Law; matters of the enforcement request, its procedures and its time limits are to be found in that law, not in this article.
- When does it apply? When the debt secured by the mortgage is not paid.
- What does it regulate? Expropriation of the mortgaged property and its compulsory sale.
- Procedural reference: the Enforcement Law.
This article connects with those around it: Article 30 gives the possessor of a mortgaged property the right to clear it of every registered mortgage, and makes that right continue until the mortgaged property is sold, while Article 32 allows the possessor to enter the proceedings for its sale at auction; if the auction is awarded to the possessor and the possessor pays the price, the possessor is regarded as owner under the original ownership document.
Because the details of enforcement vary from case to case, anyone facing a compulsory sale of a mortgaged property, whether as debtor, creditor or possessor, is advised to consult a lawyer specializing in enforcement or real estate cases.
Practical example
Ahmed gave a registered mortgage on his apartment in Jeddah to secure financing he obtained, and then stopped paying. If the financing provider wants to recover its debt from the apartment, its expropriation and compulsory sale are carried out under the procedures of the Enforcement Law, as Article 31 provides.
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 31 of the Saudi Registered Real Estate Mortgage Law
How is a mortgaged property sold if the debtor does not pay?
The procedures for compulsory expropriation of the mortgaged property and its sale, when the debt is not paid, are carried out in accordance with the Enforcement Law.
Does the Registered Real Estate Mortgage Law set out the steps of the compulsory sale?
Article 31 does not give these steps; it refers the procedures for compulsory expropriation and sale to the Enforcement Law.
Can the possessor of a mortgaged property take part in the auction?
Yes. Article 32 allows the possessor of a mortgaged property to enter the proceedings for its sale at auction.
More articles on Enforcing Against the Mortgaged Property
- Article 15
The article limits enforcement against a real surety, who is not the debtor, to the mortgaged property alone, and lets the owner claim against the debtor after the property is sold but not before enforcement against it.
1 - إذا كان الراهن كفيلاً عينيًّا، فلا يجوز التنفيذ على ما سوى العقار المرهون من أموال مالكه غير المدين. 2 - إذا بيع العقار المرهون المكفول به عينيًّا، فلمالكه
- Article 18
The article requires the debt to be paid when it falls due. If the debtor pays, the debtor takes back the property; if not, it is sold at the mortgagee's request and the mortgagee takes priority by rank, then shares in the debtor's other assets for any balance.
إذا حل أجل الدين وجب أداؤه، فإذا أداه المدين أخذ عقاره المرهون، وإن لم يؤدّه بيع العقار المرهون بطلب المرتهن، ويقدّم على جميع الغرماء في استيفاء دينه من ثمنه وف
- Article 28
The article lets the mortgagee begin compulsory expropriation and sale of the mortgaged property if the debtor does not pay by the agreed time, after notifying the debtor and the possessor in accordance with the Enforcement Law.
للمرتهن أن يتخذ إجراءات النزع الجبري لملكية العقار المرهون وبيعه إذا لم يقم المدين بالوفاء في الأجل المعين، وذلك بعد إنذار المدين وحائز العقار المرهون وفقًا لنظ
- Article 32
The article lets the possessor of a mortgaged property enter its auction; if the possessor wins and pays the price, the possessor is regarded as owner under the original ownership document, and the property is cleared of every registered right.
يجوز لحائز العقار المرهون أن يدخل في إجراءات بيعه في المزاد، فإذا رسا المزاد عليه وأدى الثمن، عُدَّ مالكًا للعقار بمقتضى وثيقة ملكيته الأصلية، ويتطهر العقار الم
- Article 33
If the auction of a mortgaged property is awarded to someone other than its possessor, that person acquires ownership under the decision awarding the auction and receives the right from the possessor, whether or not the possessor entered the auction.
إذا رسا مزاد بيع العقار المرهون على غير حائزه، فإنه يكسب ملكيته بمقتضى قرار رسوّ المزاد عليه، ويتلقى حقه من الحائز، سواء أدخل الحائز في المزاد أم لم يدخل.
- Article 34
If the price of the mortgaged property exceeds the value of the registered debts, the excess belongs to the owner.
إذا زاد ثمن العقار المرهون على قيمة الديون المسجلة، كانت الزيادة للمالك.
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.