In line with the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020, which officially came into effect this year, the Ministry of Housing has announced new housing programs with a budget of SR 60 million for the benefit of one million Saudi families. While the Ministry of Housing, which includes the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF), has not taken up any housing programs since many years, it has announced steps towards privatization of the sector by February, and the launch of as many as 280,000 housing units. Citizens are ecstatic over the move and have welcomed it whole-heartedly. Minister of Housing Majed Al-Hogail has hailed the step as the greatest in the history of government-funded housing schemes. The new steps are in partnership with the private sector for financing as well as home development. They are the fruits of the determined steps taken by the Ministry to regulate the housing market. Some of these steps include licensing of housing projects, fees on unused land, association of landlords to enhance development of residential compounds and buildings, and a renting system to control the housing rental market and remove irregularities of some real estate companies. They also cover easy and affordable house ownership schemes for citizens. To cap it all, comes the approval of a National Authority for Real Estate, which is scheduled to go live within less than two months, along with the Governmental Housing Company. The new housing programs will be consistent with the government subsidy programs via the "Citizen's Account" which will act as the official reference for all subsidy-related governmental sectors. Consequently, the Real Estate Fund has been launched to undertake loan products with banks and financial companies, adopting for the first time the "Smart Subsidy" concept wherein loans will be linked to family income and the number of members. It may be recalled that in his very first speech, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, had underscored the importance of housing for every citizen. The new housing programs are in keeping with this pledge and are an important element in national development.
