Owners' association maintenance in Saudi Arabia (REGA, Mullak)
Owners' associations are growing fast. REGA reported 17,000 approved associations by mid-2025, with 3,600 new ones in the first half of that year alone. Most of what is written about them covers registration, fees and enforcement. Very little covers the part that fills residents' complaints: keeping the building running. This guide explains the rules from the law and its executive regulations, then turns them into a practical maintenance plan, budget and reporting routine.
Is an owners' association mandatory in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, once a jointly owned property has three or more owners of subdivided units (Law on Ownership of Real Estate Units, Article 12). The association must be registered with REGA, and registration should be requested within 30 days of founding; if nobody does it, any owner may apply (Executive Regulations, Article 10). The association only gains legal personality, its own finances and the right to act once it is registered.
Two points that older articles get wrong:
- The threshold of "more than 10 units and 5 owners" belongs to the repealed 1423H law. The current law, issued by Royal Decree M/85 in 1441H, sets three owners.
- The current term is owners' association (جمعية الملاك). "Owners' union" (اتحاد الملاك) is the old term, still common in conversation.
Every new owner is bound automatically: buying a unit means accepting the association's bylaws and general-assembly decisions (Article 15). Using Mullak is free of charge.
Who is responsible for maintenance?
| Role | Responsibility for maintenance |
|---|---|
| General assembly (all owners) | Approves the annual budget and the manager's report; appoints the manager and auditor and sets their fees; meets at least once a year, within three months of the financial year-end. Decisions need owners holding at least three-quarters of total unit area, unless the bylaws set a higher bar (Article 18) |
| President | Elected from the owners for three years; chairs meetings and follows up decisions (Article 18) |
| Property manager | Provides the works and services needed to operate and maintain the building, supervises contractors, collects contributions and spends from the approved budget (Executive Regulations, Article 23). May be an owner or an outside individual or company |
| Auditor | Mandatory if the property has 100 or more units or the association's assets exceed SAR 1 million (Executive Regulations, Article 27) |
| Each owner | Maintains their own unit, even if it is empty, so it does not harm the building (Article 27) |
| REGA | Registers associations, can attend general assemblies, warn managers and act when an association cannot decide |
The manager may not award contracts that benefit themselves or a relative up to the fourth degree (Executive Regulations, Article 24). For a company that manages buildings for a fee, the Real Estate Brokerage Law's implementing regulations reserve property and facility management for licensed (FAL) establishments. REGA also published draft property-management and facility-management regulations for consultation in May 2026; at the time of writing they had not been approved.
What does the association have to maintain?
The law defines the common parts as everything meant for shared use, naming land, entrances, corridors, parking, tanks, ducts, services, pools, gardens, courtyards and lifts (Article 1). The executive regulations add structural elements passing through a unit, shared mechanical and electrical systems, and the building's infrastructure (Article 8). In practice that means:
| System or area | Typical routine (common practice, not law) |
|---|---|
| Lifts | Monthly preventive visit by the lift contractor; test the emergency phone; annual independent safety inspection recommended |
| Fire alarm, sprinklers, fire pumps, extinguishers | Serviced by a qualified fire-safety contractor on the schedule in your contract and Civil Defense requirements; pumps run regularly, devices tested at least yearly |
| Emergency lighting and exit signs | Monthly function test, full-duration test yearly |
| Standby generator | Weekly check, monthly run under load, annual service |
| Water tanks | Cleaned and disinfected at least twice a year, with a water test after cleaning |
| Booster, transfer and drainage pumps | Weekly check, monthly changeover test, quarterly service |
| Central AC for common areas | Filters monthly, quarterly service, full check before summer |
| Common lighting and electrical panels | Monthly lighting round, yearly inspection of panels |
| Roof, waterproofing and façade | Inspection yearly and before the rainy season; façade changes need general-assembly approval (Article 30) |
| Cleaning, security, pest control, pools, gardens, parking | Daily or weekly schedules set in each service contract |
Take exact intervals from your contracts, the manufacturers and the Civil Defense requirements that apply to your building. The legal duty is to keep the common parts working; the schedule is how you prove it. Our guide to setting SLA response and resolution times helps when you write those contracts.
If works inside a unit are needed for safety or to maintain a shared system, the owner cannot refuse. The association must give adequate notice of the work and its duration, restore the unit straight afterwards, and pay compensation if the occupant has to move out (Article 27; Executive Regulations, Article 36).
How is the maintenance budget split between owners?
Each owner pays the cost of maintaining and managing the common parts in proportion to the area of their unit against the total area of all units (Article 26). In mixed-use buildings the share can differ by use, and parts that serve only some units are paid only by those owners (Executive Regulations, Article 34). No owner can opt out by giving up their share of the common parts (Article 24).
Neither the law nor REGA sets an amount. The general assembly approves it, following rules in the bylaws. A practical budget checklist:
- List every common system and asset, with its age, warranty and contractor.
- Price the planned maintenance contracts: lifts, fire systems, mechanical and electrical, AC, generator, tanks, pest control.
- Add soft services: cleaning, security, landscaping, pool.
- Add common-area electricity and water.
- Add an allowance for reactive repairs, based on last year's jobs.
- Plan major replacements (pumps, lift upgrades, waterproofing) and decide whether the general assembly will build a reserve (optional, Executive Regulations, Article 30).
- Add the manager's and auditor's fees, and insurance if the owners choose it (good practice, not a legal duty).
- Subtract any income, such as leased common spaces documented on Ejar.
- Split the net total by unit area, apply the mixed-use and partial-use rules, and put it to the vote.
The financial year is twelve months; the first one can run for six to eighteen months from registration (Article 20).
How are contributions collected, and what if an owner does not pay?
Contributions are set on Mullak, and invoices are issued automatically when due. According to the Mullak FAQ, an invoice unpaid for more than a month becomes "late", and the manager can then request an executive instrument. REGA issues the approved document free of charge, and the case is completed on the Najiz enforcement platform. The law sets no fine for late payment; enforcement follows the Enforcement Law (Article 21).
What must the manager report to the owners each year?
Within three months of the financial year-end, the manager prepares the financial statements and a report on the association's activity and position. They go to the auditor at least 45 days before the general assembly, and a copy goes to REGA and every owner within a month (Article 20). Any owner may inspect the records and accounts (Executive Regulations, Article 32), and all association reports and correspondence must be in Arabic, with another language allowed alongside (Article 33).
A good maintenance report shows, for each common system, what was planned, what was done, what broke and what it cost. That is the evidence owners need before they approve next year's budget.
Taking over a building from the developer
When an association is founded, the warranties for the building's construction and operation pass to it, and the developer must fix defects until they do; its legal liability continues (Executive Regulations, Article 38). At handover, collect the warranties, as-built drawings and operation and maintenance manuals, walk the building with the developer and log every defect against the asset it belongs to. Defects found in year one are much cheaper to settle while the developer is still responsible.
Mullak and maintenance software: what does each do?
Mullak is REGA's official platform and the place for registration, the property manager, nominations and votes, invoices, the unified 700 number, moving the main water meter into the association's name, and the executive instrument. It is mandatory and free.
The day-to-day maintenance, meaning the planned schedules, residents' requests, contractor jobs and their evidence, and the cost of each repair, needs a maintenance system alongside it. Many managers still run this on WhatsApp and spreadsheets, which leaves little evidence when owners ask questions at the general assembly. See what a CAFM system is and how to manage subcontractors without app logins.
How Mubaney supports owners' associations
Mubaney is a maintenance-management platform for property managers and owners' associations, in Arabic and English. Residents report faults by scanning a QR code in the building, with no app or login. Planned maintenance creates jobs on schedule, contractors receive each job as a secure link and record before-and-after photos, and the asset register keeps warranties and condition alerts. It is priced per building, so residents and contractors are unlimited.
FAQ
Is an owners' association mandatory in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, when a jointly owned property has three or more unit owners, under Article 12 of the Law on Ownership of Real Estate Units. It must be registered with REGA on the Mullak platform, ideally within 30 days of founding.
Who decides how much each owner pays for maintenance?
The general assembly approves the annual budget prepared by the manager. Each owner's share follows the area of their unit against the total area, with adjustments for mixed-use buildings and for parts that serve only some units. REGA does not set an amount.
Can an owner refuse to pay the association's contributions?
No. The law does not let an owner opt out by giving up their share of the common parts. Unpaid invoices become late after a month on Mullak, and the manager can obtain an executive instrument and enforce it through Najiz.
Does an owners' association need an auditor?
A licensed auditor is mandatory if the property has 100 or more units or the association's assets exceed SAR 1 million. Smaller associations may still appoint one, and the general assembly approves the auditor and the fee.
Must the association hire a facility-management company?
The ownership law does not require it; it makes the manager responsible for providing maintenance and supervising contractors. A company that manages or maintains buildings for others as a business needs the relevant FAL licence from REGA.
Who maintains the pipes inside my flat?
You maintain your own unit. Shared pipes, risers and electrical systems that pass through it are common parts maintained by the association, which must give you notice before working inside your unit.
Sources
- Law on Ownership of Real Estate Units, their Subdivision and Management (REGA)
- Executive Regulations of the Law (REGA)
- Mullak platform: frequently asked questions
- REGA: owners' associations services guide (January 2025)
- REGA: owners' associations record 185% growth in H1 2025
- Implementing Regulations of the Real Estate Brokerage Law (REGA)