Renewing a Yearly Lease in Riyadh

Renewing a yearly lease is the moment that decides what you will pay next year, yet many people treat it as a routine formality left until the last week. Preparing early is the difference between a renewal on terms that suit you and a renewal you accept because you have no time to look for an alternative.

Start three months ahead

This is the one rule that changes the outcome. Preparing early gives you three things:

Market knowledge: you know whether what you are being asked for is reasonable.
A real alternative: having another option is your only source of leverage in a negotiation.
Time to move: if you decide to leave, moving takes planning, not a week.

Someone who starts two weeks out has no real option — and it shows in the terms they accept.

Review the renewal clause in your current contract

Before any discussion, read what you signed:

The notice procedure and period: when each party must notify the other of their intention to renew or terminate.
How the new rent is determined: whether the contract sets out a mechanism or leaves it to agreement.
Whether renewal is automatic: in Riyadh, the rent-freeze decision gives the tenant the right to automatic renewal at the same rent unless either party notifies the other that they do not wish to renew at least 60 days before the contract ends (details below).
Termination terms: if you decide not to renew.

Is the increase justified? Gather your data first

Before accepting or rejecting any increase, know where you stand in the market. Current yearly rent averages in Riyadh:

District	Average yearly rent
Al Arid	65,005 SAR
Al Aqiq	68,650 SAR
Al Nafal	69,963 SAR
Al Malqa	72,414 SAR
Qurtubah	75,528 SAR
Al Rabi	92,286 SAR
Hittin	133,290 SAR

If your rent after the increase is clearly above your district's average, you have an objective basis for the discussion — or a reason to move. See the full averages for every district.

What regulates the increase?

In Riyadh, the answer is settled: under the Riyadh rent-freeze decision of 25 September 2025, the total rent of residential and commercial properties within the city's urban boundary is frozen for five years, covering existing contracts, new contracts and renewals. The landlord may not raise the rent during this period and is obliged to register the contract on the Ejar platform; anyone who violates this faces a fine of up to 12 months' rent, along with correcting the violation and compensating the injured party.

The decision also restricted refusal to renew: the tenant has the right to automatic renewal, and the landlord may only refuse in specific cases such as the tenant defaulting on payment, certified structural defects that require the property to be vacated, or the landlord wanting to live in the unit themselves or house a first-degree relative, and only with at least 60 days' notice. Outside Riyadh the contract remains the reference, so review its terms first. Official details and updates can be checked on the Ejar platform.

Your negotiation sheet

With rents frozen in Riyadh, negotiating over an increase is no longer on the table, but negotiating everything else still is: the contract term, the payment schedule, maintenance, and even asking for a reduction if your rent is above your district's average. If you are a good tenant who pays on time and looks after the unit, you are worth more to the landlord than the risk of the unit sitting empty for two months. These are points you can raise:

Your payment record: real value to the landlord — mention it.
The cost of vacancy to them: two empty months can exceed the increase they are asking of you.
A market comparison: with figures, not impressions. In Riyadh, the Ejar platform offers a rent-adjustment request service for reductions only, not increases.
Non-price trade-offs: a payment schedule that suits you better, repairs and improvements to the unit, or locking in a longer term.
Deferred maintenance: if there are faults that were never fixed, they are part of the discussion.

When is moving better than renewing?

If your current rent is clearly above the market and an equivalent alternative exists at a lower price.
If your needs have changed: the number of bedrooms, your workplace, or the school.
If maintenance problems keep recurring without being fixed.

But work out the full cost of moving before deciding: the move itself, setting up again, and the time. Sometimes staying is cheaper than moving even with a difference in rent.

If you decide to move but have not settled on where

A furnished monthly stay for a few months gives you time to choose your new district without pressure, with no temporary furnishing and no one-year commitment in a place you have not tried. Read the monthly rental guide.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start preparing for renewal?

At least three months before the contract ends, so you have time to look for an alternative if needed.

Can I refuse an increase?

In Riyadh, the landlord may not raise the rent at all during the five-year freeze period running from 25 September 2025, on existing and new contracts alike. If you are asked for an increase, you can refuse it, keep your right to renew at the same rent, and report the violation through the Ejar platform.

Does the contract renew automatically?

In Riyadh, yes: the tenant has the right to automatic renewal at the same rent unless either party notifies the other that they do not wish to renew at least 60 days before the contract ends, and the landlord's refusal is limited to the cases specified by law. Outside Riyadh it depends on what your contract says.