--- title: "Evicted Because the Landlord Sold the Property? What Saudi Law Says — Ejari" description: "Selling a rented property in Saudi Arabia doesn't end your lease. What the Civil Transactions Law says, when a landlord can end a lease, and what to do if told to leave." url: "https://ejari.sa/en/blog/landlord-sold-property-eviction-saudi-arabia/" lang: "en" --- Tenant rights # Evicted Because the Landlord Sold the Property? What Saudi Law Says Published Oct 11, 2026 • 7 min read By [Fahad Albedah](https://ejari.sa/en/authors/fahad-albedah/), CTO Selling a rented property in Saudi Arabia doesn't end your lease. What the Civil Transactions Law says, when a landlord can end a lease, and what to do if told to leave. **In this article** 1. [The Core Rule: A Sale Doesn’t Cancel Your Lease](#the-core-rule-a-sale-doesnt-cancel-your-lease) 2. [What About the “60-Day Notice” People Talk About?](#what-about-the-60-day-notice-people-talk-about) 3. [When Can a Lease Actually End Early?](#when-can-a-lease-actually-end-early) 4. [If You’re Told “You Have Two Days to Leave”](#if-youre-told-you-have-two-days-to-leave) 5. [A Quick Checklist](#a-quick-checklist) 6. [If You Were Forced Out Without a Proper Process](#if-you-were-forced-out-without-a-proper-process) 7. [Your Lease Defines Your Rights: Register It From Day One](#your-lease-defines-your-rights-register-it-from-day-one) 8. [Frequently Asked Questions](#frequently-asked-questions) “The property’s been sold. You need to be out in two days.” A call like that can turn your world upside down, especially if you’ve called the same place home for years. But before you panic and start apartment hunting, there’s one thing you need to know first, because it changes everything that comes next: **Selling a rented property doesn’t end your lease, and it doesn’t take away your rights as a tenant.** This is a general guide, not legal advice. Every case is different, so check the linked source and ask a specialist about yours before you decide anything. > **Your rights as a tenant:** the rules that protect you, each with its official source, are summarised in [Tenant rights in Saudi Arabia](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/tenant-rights-saudi-arabia/). ## The Core Rule: A Sale Doesn’t Cancel Your Lease Saudi Arabia’s Civil Transactions Law is clear on this. [Article 428](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1) (in Arabic) says that a rented property may be sold, and that the sale doesn’t affect the tenant’s rights. A change of owner doesn’t cancel your lease: it keeps running for its term, on its terms. So a new owner can’t simply say “it’s mine now, get out.” Any request for you to leave has to rest on your lease (its term and its conditions) and on the rules below, not on the fact that the property changed hands. **In Riyadh, the rent doesn’t reset either.** A unit’s registered rent ceiling [isn’t affected by a change of ownership](https://www.ejar.sa/ar/faqregulation) (Ejar, in Arabic), whether by sale or gift, so a new owner can’t charge more than it. ## What About the “60-Day Notice” People Talk About? You may have heard that either side can end the lease with notice. That’s true in a narrow sense: a lease longer than three months [renews automatically unless one side tells the other at least 60 days before it ends](https://rega.gov.sa/en/media-center/news-announcements/in-line-with-hrh-crown-prince-s-directive-to-take-several-measures-to-achieve-balance-in-the-real-estate-sector-in-riyadh-approval-has-been-issued-for-regulatory-provisions-aimed-at-regulating-the-relationship-between-landlords-and-tenants/) that they don’t want to renew. The catch: **that notice is about not renewing when the term ends. It isn’t a way to make you leave in the middle of a running lease.** If your lease hasn’t reached its end date, a “notice to leave” doesn’t end it, whoever sends it. Even at the end of the term, the landlord’s freedom depends on the city: * **In Riyadh,** if you want to renew, the landlord [can refuse only in three cases](https://rega.gov.sa/en/media-center/news-announcements/in-line-with-hrh-crown-prince-s-directive-to-take-several-measures-to-achieve-balance-in-the-real-estate-sector-in-riyadh-approval-has-been-issued-for-regulatory-provisions-aimed-at-regulating-the-relationship-between-landlords-and-tenants/): you failed to pay; the building has structural defects that affect its safety, confirmed by an approved technical report; or the landlord wants the home for their own use or a first-degree relative’s. * **Outside Riyadh,** a landlord may decline to renew [without conditions, as long as they give the required notice](https://www.ejar.sa/ar/faqregulation) (Ejar, in Arabic). * **Everywhere,** a landlord who declines to renew a residential lease to use the home themselves, or for a first-degree relative, must give notice [at least 365 days before the lease ends](https://rega.gov.sa/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AD-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%A9/%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7/%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%A3%D9%86-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%8A-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-365-%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85/) (REGA decision, in Arabic), not 60. A sale isn’t one of the Riyadh cases. The details are in [renewing a lease in Saudi Arabia](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/renew-lease-saudi-arabia/). ## When Can a Lease Actually End Early? A registered lease binds both sides for its full term. On Ejar, it can end early in two ways: a mutual cancellation, which one side requests and the other approves, or a one-sided cancellation, which [needs an execution decision ending the contract](https://rega.gov.sa/media/r4shxzij/%D8%AF%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1.pdf) (REGA’s Ejar services guide, in Arabic). The new owner can’t end it on the platform alone. If rent goes unpaid, the landlord doesn’t evict you themselves either. The registered lease is an [executive instrument](https://www.spa.gov.sa/1784734) (SPA, in Arabic): they take it to the Execution Court. **Asking you to leave and actually removing you are two different things.** Under [Article 423 of the Civil Transactions Law](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1) (in Arabic), the landlord must not interfere with your use of the property for the whole term of the lease, and is liable if they do. Interference by people acting for them counts as theirs. Changing the locks, cutting the utilities or keeping you out of the home are examples. Any dispute goes through the official channels (the courts, through Najiz), not a phone call or a one-sided decision. ## If You’re Told “You Have Two Days to Leave” Don’t make a snap decision because of a call or a message. Take a breath, and check: 1. **Your lease.** When does it start and end? Does it have termination clauses? 2. **The reason.** Is it only that the property was sold, or is there a legal ground? 3. **The notice.** When and how did it reach you? Does it match what applies to your lease? 4. **The new owner.** Check their proof of ownership, and the authority of anyone acting for them, before you discuss anything. Our guide to [telling whether a landlord or broker is trustworthy](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/trustworthy-landlord-or-broker-saudi-arabia/) shows how to check a deed and a power of attorney. **And don’t sign anything about leaving or ending the lease until you understand what it means for your rights.** ## A Quick Checklist * Keep a copy of your lease. The copy on Ejar [is the official one](https://www.ejar.sa/ar/faqs/1000) (Ejar, in Arabic). * Record every contact: messages, calls and dates. * Keep proof of every rent payment. * Check the new owner’s identity, or their representative’s. * Don’t sign anything before you understand its effect. * If it becomes a dispute, use the official channels. REGA’s [Saudi Real Estate Arbitration Center](https://rega.gov.sa/en/rega-services/platforms/saudi-real-estate-arbitration-center/) handles disputes arising from Ejar leases, and the courts are reached through Najiz. * If the utilities are cut or you’re kept out of the home, don’t confront anyone. Record what happened and report it through the official channels straight away. ## If You Were Forced Out Without a Proper Process If the landlord’s interference deprives you of the home, in whole or in part, [Article 423](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1) lets you ask for the lease to be cancelled or the rent reduced, without losing your right to compensation. That can cover your real losses, such as moving costs or the difference in rent. The law also allows compensation for moral harm in principle ([Articles 138 and 180](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1)), but for a breach of contract, compensation is generally limited to the harm that could normally have been foreseen when the contract was signed, unless there was fraud or gross fault. Ask a specialist what applies to your case. ## Your Lease Defines Your Rights: Register It From Day One Most of these situations start with a casual “It’s fine, I’ve got the contract.” But is it registered? Are its details up to date? Do you know its exact end date, and what happens if the property changes hands? A lease registered on Ejar keeps the details of your tenancy clear and fixed. An unregistered one [isn’t treated as valid for administrative or judicial purposes](https://www.ejar.sa/ar/faqregulation) (Ejar, in Arabic). So before you ever hear “the property’s sold, get out”, your contract and your rights are already on record. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Does selling the property end the lease?** No. Under [Article 428 of the Civil Transactions Law](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1) (in Arabic), a rented property can be sold, and the sale doesn’t affect the tenant’s rights. Check your lease’s term and conditions for the details of your case. **Can a new owner tell me to leave straight away because they bought the property?** No. A change of owner doesn’t end your lease. Ending it early needs your agreement or an execution decision, and at the end of the term the notice rules apply. **What do I do if I’m given a short deadline to leave?** Don’t rush, and don’t move out. Review your lease, keep a record of the request, check the reason and the process being used, and use the official channels if it becomes a dispute. **Can I claim compensation if I was forced out without a proper process?** You can claim it. [Article 423](https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1) keeps your right to compensation when the landlord’s interference deprives you of the home, and a court decides what you’re owed. **How do I protect my rights from the start?** Register your lease on Ejar, keep a copy of it and your proof of payment, and make sure its details and term are clear and up to date. *** *Ejari is a REGA-licensed company. When you rent with Ejari, your lease is registered on Ejar, the landlord gets the year’s rent upfront, and you pay monthly, if you’re approved. [See how it works](https://ejari.sa/en/).* In this article 1. [The Core Rule: A Sale Doesn’t Cancel Your Lease](#the-core-rule-a-sale-doesnt-cancel-your-lease) 2. [What About the “60-Day Notice” People Talk About?](#what-about-the-60-day-notice-people-talk-about) 3. [When Can a Lease Actually End Early?](#when-can-a-lease-actually-end-early) 4. [If You’re Told “You Have Two Days to Leave”](#if-youre-told-you-have-two-days-to-leave) 5. [A Quick Checklist](#a-quick-checklist) 6. [If You Were Forced Out Without a Proper Process](#if-you-were-forced-out-without-a-proper-process) 7. [Your Lease Defines Your Rights: Register It From Day One](#your-lease-defines-your-rights-register-it-from-day-one) 8. [Frequently Asked Questions](#frequently-asked-questions) Rent Smart. Pay Monthly. [Get my quote](https://app.ejari.sa/dashboard/onboarding?lang=en) ## Stories from Ejari [Read all stories](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/) * [Oct 11, 2026 • 5 min read](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/ejari-partner-compounds-and-offices/) ### [Looking for a Rental? Ejari's Partner Compounds and Real Estate Offices](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/ejari-partner-compounds-and-offices/) * [Oct 11, 2026 • 6 min read](https://ejari.sa/en/blog/first-time-living-alone/) ### [First Time Living Alone? 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