Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Real Estate General Authority announced that it has begun restricting the financial transactions related to rent payment operations through digital channels of Ejar platform, starting from Jan. 15.

The digital payment channels, approved by Ejar, are Mada or SADAD through using the biller number 153. Ejar clarified that adopting the payment mechanism through digital channels on the platform comes in implementation of the decision of the Council of Ministers.

The authority clarified that payment of rent through Ejar includes all new residential rental contracts. “After Jan. 15, any proof of rent payment operations outside the framework of digital channels of Mada and SADAD on Ejar, using the number 153, will not be counted. As of now, this directive does not include commercial rent contracts,” it said.

The authority said that it will begin to gradually stop issuing electronic receipt vouchers for new residential contracts, as the payment will be settled automatically when paid through one of the digital channels, without the need to issue a receipt voucher. This is in implementation of a Cabinet decision to make the necessary arrangements to provide electronic payment service for rent contract payments. It is in the interest of the beneficiaries of the real estate rental sector, making it easier for the tenant to pay his financial obligations through digital channels and deposit them in the bank account of the landlord registered in the lease contract.

The authority emphasized that this step begins with the landlord and tenant documenting the contract on Ejar through a real estate broker licensed by the authority, and then starting to use the digital payment channels on Ejar to conduct payment operations, where the rental payment, after being paid through the digital channels, reaches the bank account of the landlord registered in the rental contract within five working days.

It is noteworthy that Ejar is aimed to preserve the rights of the tenants at all phases of the rental process, starting from the inspection of the residential unit, ensuring its integrity before signing the standard contract with the landlord, which in turn is obliged to perform regular maintenance and responsible for building safety, and ending with facilitating the rental process for the tenant.

The Ejar has demonstrated the advantages of digital payment, the most prominent of which are preserving the rights of the parties to the rental contract, documenting financial payments, and not required to issue electronic receipt documents. This is in addition to enhancing electronic transactions, raising the level of transparency in real estate operations, reducing real estate fraud, and facilitating to make payments by the tenant where partial payment is possible, in the event of reaching an agreement between the two parties in this respect.