The Implementing Regulations

of the Saudi Building Code

Application Law
Issued by the Ministerial Decree No. (1213/GS/39)
Dated 14/10/1439 H
And the Ministerial Decree No. (56)
Dated 03/03/1441 H (Amendment of the law)
And the Ministerial Decree No. (00004)
Dated 08/01/1443 H (Amendment of the law)
No. Chapter Page

1 Chapter I : Definitions 1

2 Chapter II : The objective and scope of the code application 3

3 Chapter III : Duties of relative authorities and issuance of building licenses 4

4 Chapter IV : Certificate of Occupancy 6

5 Chapter V : Inspection, monitoring, and follow-up 7

6 Chapter VI : Building Code Updating, Developing, and Re-issuing 8

7 Chapter VII : General Provisions 9

8 Appendix : Phases of code implementation 11

 Chapter I

Definitions

Article 1:

The following words and phrases, wherever mentioned in these Regulations, shall have the
meanings ascribed thereto unless the context requires otherwise:

Ministry: Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing.

Minister: Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing.

Municipal Body: Secretariat or municipality.

Organization: Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization.

National Committee: Saudi Building Code National Committee.

The relevant Body in the Ministry: The Central Unit of the Saudi Building Code in the Ministry
of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing.

Code: The Saudi Building Code, a set of provisions and requirements and subsequent
implementing regulations and annexes related to building and construction to ensure public
safety and health.

Requirements: Design details and methods of implementation, construction and

identification of the standards that are considered the basis and reference in application of
the code.

Provisions: The procedures and controls of building licenses and the preparation of
engineering plans and their requirements for buildings and Installations, and constitute an
integral part of the requirements.

Law: The Saudi building code application law.

Regulations: The Implementing Regulations of the Saudi Building Code.

Regulations for Classification of Violations: Regulations for classification of code violations

and identification of the penalties prescribed for each violation.

Consideration Committee: The committee to consider violations to the code.

Construction / Building: The construction prepared for use and occupancy, and for which a
classification is provided in the code.

1
Approved Designer: The natural or legal person licensed by the concerned authority, with
whom the owner contracts to carry out studies and designs to meet his needs and
requirements according to the code.

Supervising Designer: The natural or legal person licensed by the concerned authority to
exercise the supervision work, who is contracted by the owner to supervise the
implementation according to the approved licenses and plans.

Contractor: A natural or legal person licensed by the concerned authority to engage in

construction work, contracted by the owner to carry out construction, installation, operation
or maintenance according to the code.

Hidden Defect: Any defect in the construction works or their protective elements that weaken
the strength or stability of the building, or any defect due to errors, malfunctions, or
shortcomings in the design, materials, location or construction, provided that this defect was
not discovered on the date of issuance of the occupancy certificate.

Inspection: Inspection of a product or a product design, procedure or construction and

identification of compliance to the code requirements or general requirements based on the
professional judgment specified in the Technical Regulations or standard specification, and in
accordance with the requirements of the code.

Inspection Body: Third Party inspection body acceptable to the Organization and licensed to
carry out inspection work according to the fields of the code.

Inspector: The natural or legal person licensed and authorized by t the Saudi Council of
Engineers to carry out the inspection of buildings according to the code.

Supervision: follow up and accountable monitoring by a professional and competent

registered engineer who has the necessary qualifications and the competent experience to
perform the responsibilities associated with the inspection.

Building License: A written permit issued by the Municipal Body in accordance with the
provisions of the municipal licensing procedures and its implementing regulations

Certificate of Occupancy: A permission to occupy the building to be issued by the Municipal

Body after ensuring that the building conforms to the code.

License to Practice: A professional permit issued by the concerned body for natural and legal
persons to carry out studies, designs, implementation, supervision, or inspection, according
to the code

Relevant Authorities: The relative government agencies, as per their duty to control the
application of the Code, namely: the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing,

2
Ministry of Interior (the General Directorate of Civil Defense), Ministry of Energy, and the
Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization.

Violation: Any intentional or unintentional infringement of the code, its application law, or its
regulations.

Violator: Any natural or legal person who violates the code or any of the provisions of its
application law or regulations.

Hazardous Violation: Any violation of the Code, which failure to remove or correct, may
jeopardize lives or property, or directly cause damage to human health or the environment.

Public Utilities: Electricity, Telephone, Water and Sanitation.

Chapter II

The objective and scope of the code application

Article 2:

The code aims to establish the minimum provisions and requirements that achieve safety and
public health through the durability and stability of buildings and facilities, considering full
access to them and provide a healthy environment, adequate lighting and ventilation,
rationalization of water and energy, protection of life and property from the risks of fire,
earthquakes and other risks associated with buildings.

Article 3:

The code consists of the following:

1. Administrative requirements.
2. Architectural provisions and requirements.
3. Structural provisions and requirements.
4. Electrical provisions and requirements.
5. Mechanical provisions and requirements.
6. Provisions and requirements for water and energy conservation.
7. Provisions and requirements of sanitary and water rationalization.
8. Provisions and requirements of fire protection.
9. Provisions and requirements of earthquake protection.
10. Provisions and requirements of existing and historical buildings.
11. Green building provisions and requirements.
12. Provisions and requirements of residential buildings.
13. Reference Standard Specifications.
14. Any other provisions or requirements issued by the National Committee.

3
Article 4:

The provisions and requirements of the Code shall constitute an integral unit for application.

Article 5:

The code applies and prohibits the application of any other code to all building and
construction works in the public and private sectors according to the classification of buildings,
including the design, implementation, operation, maintenance and modification of the
building, and the existing buildings in case of restoration, alteration of use, expansion,
modification and removal, as from the date of entry into force of the law according to the
hierarchy shown in the annex for the implementation stages of the code. By the end of the
implementation stages, the code shall apply to all types of buildings classified therein.

Article 6:

The provisions and requirements of the Code relating to thermal insulation, fire protection
systems shall be applied to all construction works immediately after the entry into force of
the law, without considering the stages of gradation referred to in Article 5 of the Regulations.

Article 7:

The application of the provisions and requirements of the code on the existing buildings shall
be according to the possibility of application, based on a technical report from a certified
engineering office containing possible engineering solutions, and according to the law.

Chapter III

Duties of relative authorities and issuance of building licenses

Article 8:

Without prejudice to the right of the relevant authorities to exercise their duties and
responsibilities according to their regulations, the Ministry and the municipal body shall carry
out in terms of the code, for example, the following duties:

1. Prepare the required survey reports according to the requirements of the guideline plan.
2. Issue building, restoration, destruction, modification and other licenses.
3. Follow up and monitor the code implementation.
4. Follow-up inspections and testing works during construction work.
5. Issue the occupancy Certificate after building completion and ensuring that it conforms to
the code.
6. Approve the delivery of permanent and temporary public utilities.
7. Keep records of building, monitoring, inspection, control and penalties.

4
8. Build a database of engineering offices, companies and institutions licensed to carry out
construction works and accredited bodies to audit plans and inspect buildings.
9. Appointing inspection bodies according to their specialties in the code.

Article 9:

Without prejudice to the right of the relevant authorities to exercise their duties and
responsibilities according to their regulations, the Ministry of Interior (Directorate of civil
defense), in respect of the code, shall carry out the following duties:

1. Follow up and monitor the application of the code and control its violations in relation to
the requirements of fire prevention and protection systems in all stages of construction,
maintenance, operation and storage.
2. Coordinate with the competent authorities to ensure that engineering and technical
offices and contractors have the necessary qualification in the field of fire prevention and
protection requirements in buildings to practice design, supervision, implementation,
maintenance and operation works.
3. Appointing the inspection bodies in the field of fire protection and fighting.

Article 10:

Without prejudice to the right of the relevant authorities to exercise their duties and
responsibilities according to their regulations, the Ministry of Energy, in terms of the code,
shall carry out the following duties:

1. Coordinate with the competent authorities to prepare the requirements for qualification
of engineering and technical offices and contractors to carry out electrical works and
energy conservation.
2. Follow up and monitor the application of the code and control of violations in relation to
the electrical works and energy conservation within its duties.
3. Appointing the inspection bodies in the field of electrical works and energy conservation.

Article 11:

Without prejudice to the right of the relevant authorities to exercise their duties and
responsibilities according to their regulations, the Organization, in terms of the code, shall
carry out the following duties:

1. Accept conformity assessment bodies, including inspection bodies, within the works of
the code in a field or fields specified by the Organization in accordance with the provisions
issued by it.
2. Update the reference standard specifications for the code in accordance with the issued
standard specifications and technical regulations

5
Article 12:

The competent authority in the Ministry is responsible for coordinating to complete the
automation linkage between the Baladi platform and other relevant authorities to complete
their specialized tasks related to the application of the code.

Article 13:

Subject to the regulations of municipal licensing procedures and its executive regulations, no
building, renovation, modification, removal, change of use or other similar license shall be
issued unless the documents and drawings of the code are verified and approved.

Article 14:

The license applicant undertakes to abide by the code, and to entrust the design, supervision
and implementation work to specialists who hold professional practice licenses issued by the
concerned authority and to submit the contracts concluded with them, showing their
addresses and contacts, provided that those contracts explicitly state for the commitment of
practitioners to carry out the work entrusted to them according to code. The license applicant
is obliged to specify his address and contacts and update them when changed, and his notice
through them shall be valid.

Article 15:

The owner, approved designer, Supervising designer and contractor shall communicate with
the municipal body if there is disagreement about the application of the code or interpretation
of its clauses. They shall report any violation by one of the parties. They may communicate
with the municipal body or with the competent authority in the ministry if there are proposals
that will develop or improve the code.

Chapter IV

Certificate of Occupancy

Article 16:

The building shall not be occupied until after obtaining a certificate of occupancy from the
municipal body according to the occupancy classification contained in the Saudi building code
(SBC 201).

Article 17:

Subject to the municipal licensing procedures law and its executive regulations, the license
holder shall apply to the Municipal body after completion of the building for the issuance of

6
the occupancy certificate and attach with the application the necessary licenses and
requirements, the final inspection work, tests and as built drawings.

Article 18:

The application for issuance of Occupancy Certificate must be decided upon after verifying the
application of the provisions and requirements of the Code within three business days from
the date of submission of the application. If the application is rejected, the applicant shall be
notified with the reasons for refusal by duly applicable means of notification. The occupancy
certificate must include the following data:

- Number and date of building license.

- Name and address of the building owner.
- Building address, coordinates, description and classification.
- Name of the municipal body.
- Type of use and occupancy.
- Availability of fire prevention and protection systems.
- Name and signature of the holder.

Article 19:

The Municipal body may issue a temporary occupation certificate for a period not exceeding
one hundred and eighty days, renewable, for temporary and seasonal installations, festivals
and events, and labor housing in large projects when needed during the period of
implementation provided that it is verified that the occupancy will be carried out safely and
according to the code.

Article 20:

Subject to the applicable laws and regulations, the Municipal Authority and the relevant
authorities may request disconnection of public utilities when necessary to remove a direct
hazard to life or property. The owner or occupant of the building shall be notified with the
decision of disconnection. It is not allowed to return the utilities until after the reason for
disconnection has been removed.

Chapter V

Inspection, monitoring, and follow-up

Article 21:

To verify the implementation of the code, inspections, tests, follow-up and approval according
to the stages, types, procedures and rules specified in the code shall be carried out in a
sequential manner according to the stages of construction, and may move from one stage to

7
another without obtaining the approval of relevant bodies, the relevant authorities shall have
the right to suspend the building license at any stage of construction according to the code.

Article 22:

The license holder or his representative shall notify the inspector when the work is ready for
inspection according to the construction stages, and shall provide all the documents, drawings
and the necessary supplies for the required inspection and testing works.

Article 23:

Violations shall be controlled and penalties imposed in accordance with Regulations for
Classification of the Saudi Building Code Violations.

Chapter VI

Building Code Updating, Developing and Re-issuing

Article 24:

The National Committee shall propose the amendment, development and updating of the
Code. The relevant bodies and all concerned stakeholders shall directly provide the
Committee with the notes detected during the implementation of the code and proposals for
what needs to be modified and updated.

Article 25:

The National Committee shall set up a mechanism for receiving comments on the amendment
or updating of the Code, and shall study such comments and submit the results to the Minister
of Commerce, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Organization to issue the
amendment or update decisions.

Article 26:

The National Committee shall prepare scientific and technical instructions and explanations
of the Code. The relative bodies shall participate in the preparation of the training and
qualification curricula and plans and hold workshops, seminars and conferences related to the
Code.

8
 Chapter VII

General Provisions

Article 27:

The Ministry and the relevant bodies may use approved engineering offices, companies and
private institutions to carry out their tasks related to the implementation of the code
according to the general requirements regulations for Appointing inspection bodies and
inspectors for Saudi Building Code works.

Article 28:

The relevant body in the Ministry shall undertake the following duties:

1. Develop the mechanisms of applying the code and follow up implementation thereof by
the secretariats and municipalities and provide the necessary technical support thereto.
2. Set up procedural guidelines and the necessary standard forms and the mechanism of
coordination with the relevant bodies to implement the requirements of the law and its
executive regulations.
3. Follow up the implementation of the decisions related to the code.
4. Supervise and follow-up the procedural work related to code implementation.
5. Follow-up procedures for the formation of committees to consider violations in
coordination with the secretariats.
6. Prepare the committees rules of work to consider violations, procedures and reward their
members and raise them for approval by a decision of the Minister.
7. Receive the comments and proposals on the application of the code and set up a database
of the same and refer them to the National Committee for consideration and propose the
necessary actions.
8. Any other duties entrusted to it.

Article 29:

1. The Supervising designer who supervising the implementation of the construction and the
contractor shall be jointly responsible for compensating the owner for ten years - from
the date of issuance of the occupancy certificate – for the total or partial demolition of
the buildings they constructed or the facilities they built and for every hidden defect that
threatens the durability and safety of the building.
2. The obligation to pay the compensation mentioned in Paragraph (1) shall remain valid,
even if the defect or demolition was caused by a defect in the land itself or the employer’s
consent to construct the defective buildings or facilities.
3. The approved designer shall be responsible for design defects if his work is limited to
developing the design only without supervising the implementation.

9
4. Every condition intended to exempt the contractor or Supervising designer from the
warranty or limit it shall be null and void.

Article 30:

This regulation shall be effective as of the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

10
 Annex

Phases of code implementation

Stage 1: From the date of the law's entry into force until the end of the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah
1440H. During such period, the code shall be applied to the following buildings: Governmental
administrative buildings, high buildings (towers, more than 23 m), hospitals and hotels.

Stage 2: From the end of the first stage until the end of the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah 1441H,
during which the code shall be applied in addition to what was applied in the first stage on the
following buildings: Complex buildings (mosques - sports facilities), educational buildings,
trading malls, communications towers, Industrial buildings and facilities, buildings below 23
m, high-risk buildings.

Stage 3: From the end of the second stage until the end of the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah 1442H
during which the code shall be applied in addition to what was applied in the first and second
stages on the following buildings: Complex buildings (banquet halls, cinemas, theaters) health
care centers, hotel furnished apartments, hostels, residential buildings and recreational
facilities.

Stage 4: from the end of the third stage until the end of the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah 1443H
during which the code shall be applied in addition to what was applied in the above three
stages on the following buildings: business buildings (airports, banks, television stations, post).

Stage 5: From the end of the fourth stage until the end of the month of Dhu Al-Hijjah 1444H
during which the code shall be applied in addition to what was applied in the above four stages
on all types of buildings classified within it.

11