Foreigners can now buy in Makkah and Madinah, inside 22 zones

Foreigners can now buy property in Makkah and Madinah, but only inside 22 zones named by REGA, the property regulator. The law has been in force since 22 January 2026. An individual buyer must be Muslim.

Key figures

What changed

Under the 2000 law a non-Saudi could not own in the two cities at all, only hold a usufruct, which is a right to use property for a period (REGA Q&A). Royal Decree M/14, gazetted on 25 July 2025, replaced it (Umm Al-Qura).

The holy cities did not open the way Riyadh or Jeddah did. Article 2(4) of the new law limits the right there to "a Muslim natural person". And the route that lets a resident expatriate buy one home outside the zones elsewhere in the Kingdom stops at Makkah and Madinah. Outside a zone, a non-Saudi cannot own in either city.

You will often see 21 January quoted as the start date. The law applied from the day after the 180 days that followed its publication in the gazette, and REGA announced it in force on 22 January.

Who can buy, and where

A Muslim individual can buy inside the zones whether or not they live in the Kingdom. A non-resident first needs a Saudi digital identity, a bank account and a phone number. REGA's portal asks for religion, and says non-Muslims may not own within the zones of Makkah and Madinah (portal text).

A Saudi company with foreign shareholders can also own inside the zones. Article 3, which grants this, states no religion condition, and inside the zones no Ministry of Investment approval is needed.

Listed companies and funds come in under CMA rules. If the property is not a head office or branch, non-Saudis together may hold no more than 49% of the issuer. Funds gain the most. In 2016 the CMA barred non-Saudi money from any real estate fund holding property in the two cities (CMA circular). That ban is gone.

The zones are named on REGA's portal. In Makkah they include Jabal Omar, Masar and Rou'a Al Haram Al Makki (King Salman Gate). In Madinah, Dar Al Hijrah, Downtown Madinah and Knowledge Economic City. Several are flagship projects of developers listed on Tadawul, so the zone list and the fund route point at the same buildings.

What it costs

A non-Saudi pays 7% of the value on top of the price: Real Estate Transaction Tax at 5% and a REGA fee of 2%. That fee applies in four places only, Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah cities and Jeddah governorate.

The 10% figure still going round comes from REGA's July 2025 Q&A, which used the 5% legal ceiling for the fee. The Regulation gazetted in July 2026 set it lower.

The zones came late

The law took effect in January, but the Cabinet only approved the zones on 23 June 2026, and the Regulation was gazetted on 3 July (Umm Al-Qura). For five months the law was in force with no published map. Even now the portal is the only public list, with no boundaries or areas attached.

Outlook

There is no public count of foreign purchases yet, and REGA's sales files carry no nationality field, so the effect on prices will be hard to see for a while. Ask for the Makkah and Madinah zone file, or read our pieces on foreign ownership across Saudi Arabia and the transaction tax.

Sources

• Umm Al-Qura, Royal Decree M/14: link
• Umm Al-Qura, Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis: link
• Saudi Press Agency, REGA announcement of entry into force: link
• Umm Al-Qura, Council of Ministers Decision No. 43: link
• Umm Al-Qura, Implementing Regulation: link
• Umm Al-Qura, Real Estate Transaction Tax Law: link
• REGA, Saudi Properties portal, zones (read 30 August 2026): link
• REGA, portal interface text: link
• REGA, Q&A on the updated law (July 2025): link
• CMA, 2016 circular on non-Saudi fund subscriptions: link
• CMA, Controls on Ownership of Real Estate by Listed Companies, Investment Funds and SPEs: link