Latest developments on the Ejar platform: What's new in contract documentation and real estate brokerage?

Latest Ejar Platform Updates: What's New in Contracts and Real Estate Brokerage?

Saudi Arabia's real estate sector never stands still. Every so often, the Real Estate General Authority (REGA) rolls out a new update — either in how rental contracts are registered on the Ejar network, or in how the real estate brokerage profession itself is regulated. The problem is that many real estate offices and digital platforms keep operating the old way, until they're caught off guard by a violation or a rejected transaction because of an update they missed.

In this article, we walk through the most important recent developments affecting contracts and real estate brokerage, and what you should do if you run a real estate office or platform to stay compliant with the new system.

Update 1: New Regulatory Provisions Governing the Rental Relationship

REGA recently issued new regulatory clarifications governing the relationship between landlord and tenant, answering questions that had long been a source of disputes between the two parties. Key points include:

• If a landlord refuses to register the contract on the Ejar network, the tenant has the right to request registration themselves on the network, and can also file an official complaint against the landlord with REGA.

• There's now precise guidance on disputing the property's condition at handover or eviction, and what documentation is required (such as a renovation or modification permit if the dispute involves construction work).

• Clarification on whether a condition report must come from an office accredited by the Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers, or whether a regular real estate office can issue one.

What does this mean for a real estate platform owner? Any system that manages rental contracts needs a clear notice informing tenants of their right to request registration if the landlord delays — not just contract registration and nothing more.

Update 2: The New Real Estate Brokerage System and the FAL License

This is the most significant recent development, and it affects anyone working in real estate marketing, sales, or leasing for a commission. The Real Estate Brokerage System was issued by royal decree, making it mandatory for any real estate broker — individual or company — to obtain a FAL license from REGA before practicing the activity.

The FAL license isn't a single type — it comes in four categories depending on the activity:

1. Brokerage and Real Estate Marketing License — for anyone selling, leasing, or marketing property on behalf of others

2. Property Management License — for anyone managing property on behalf of owners (collection, maintenance, contract follow-up)

3. Facilities Management License — for anyone operating shared facilities in real estate complexes

4. Real Estate Auctions License — for anyone organizing property sale auctions

One point that confuses many offices is worth clarifying: a broker's FAL license is not the same as a real estate ad license. Every property listing requires its own separate license, regardless of whether the broker holds a valid FAL license. In other words, a platform publishing property listings needs to verify that each listing carries its own license number — not just the broker's license number.

Update 3: Brokerage Is Now Built Into the Ejar Journey Itself

The Ejar platform now lets tenants or landlords search for a licensed real estate broker and agree with them directly from within the platform. Once an agreement is reached, an SMS is sent notifying the other party that a brokerage agreement or rental contract is pending approval, which they then approve electronically. In short, brokerage is now integrated into the same contract-registration journey, rather than being a separate step outside the system.

Update 4: The Saudi Real Estate Portal — Bringing Every Platform Together

REGA launched a unified portal (the Saudi Real Estate Portal) that brings together four previously separate systems:

• The Real Estate Registry

• The Ejar network

• The Saudi Real Estate Exchange Market (SREM)

• The FAL brokerage platform

The goal is for any party — citizen, resident, or even a foreign investor — to log in once and access all these services from a single portal, instead of navigating between separate sites. This matters a great deal if you're planning to integrate your real estate platform with REGA's systems, since the entry point is now unified.

Update 5: Stricter Market Oversight

REGA has started conducting joint regulatory inspection rounds on a regular basis (reaching 39 rounds in a single month), in cooperation with other government bodies, to ensure offices and brokers are complying with the new regulations. In other words, the likelihood of any violation being caught — an unlicensed broker, an unlicensed ad, an unregistered contract — is now far higher than before.

What Should Change in Your Systems Because of This?

If you currently run a real estate platform or property management system, here are the key points worth reviewing:

• Automate FAL license verification: instead of manual checks, connect your system to the "broker license inquiry" service to automatically confirm that any broker registering on your platform holds a valid license.

• Separate broker licensing from ad licensing: your system needs to distinguish between the two, rather than assuming a broker's license is sufficient to publish any listing.

• Notify tenants of their rights: particularly in cases where a landlord delays registration.

• Prepare for integration with the Saudi Real Estate Portal: if your system relies on older APIs that communicated with Ejar separately, make sure they're still compatible with the new unified portal architecture.

Common Mistakes After the New Brokerage System

• Continuing to work with brokers without verifying an active FAL license — this exposes both the platform and the office to regulatory liability.

• Confusing the brokerage license with the property management license — each activity requires its own separate FAL license, not one license covering everything.

• Publishing listings without a separate ad license — even if the broker is licensed, the listing itself needs its own independent license.

• Ignoring registration updates — relying on an outdated version of contract registration requirements instead of following REGA's periodic updates.

Our Experience at SubCode

On the Aqdi project, we built an electronic contract registration platform accredited by the Ejar network, which meant closely tracking every update issued by REGA and reflecting it in the platform as it happened. On the Al-Suqoor Real Estate project, we built a broker dashboard that accounted for licensing and regulatory compliance requirements from the design stage — not as an afterthought.

Next Step

If you run a real estate platform or property management system and want to make sure it's aligned with the latest developments in the real estate brokerage system and Ejar registration, the SubCode team is ready to review your current system with you and show you exactly what needs updating, based on real experience with Saudi real estate projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FAL license mandatory even for someone marketing property occasionally, not as a full-time job?
Yes. Anyone — individual or company — who brokers, sells, leases, or markets property for a commission must hold the appropriate FAL license for that activity, regardless of how regularly they do it.

Does the Saudi Real Estate Portal replace the Ejar network?
No. The Ejar network is still the system responsible for registering rental contracts themselves; the Saudi Real Estate Portal has simply become the unified entry point that gives you access to Ejar and the other platforms (Real Estate Registry, FAL, SREM) from one place.

Do contracts registered before the new brokerage system need to be amended?
The new system primarily governs the brokerage relationship and its licensing, not the format of existing contracts. It's best to review any active brokerage agreement with a specialist to confirm compliance.

Can I connect my existing real estate system to the FAL license verification service?
Yes — that's exactly the kind of integration we recommend. Instead of manual verification, you can integrate the inquiry service into your system so it automatically checks the validity of any broker's license before they interact with your platform.