Real estate tokenization in Saudi Arabia: what is live and what is still pending

Saudi Compliance editorial teamPublished: 2026-10-11Updated: 2026-10-1112 min read

اقرأ بالعربية

Real estate tokenization in Saudi Arabia is supervised by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), with the Real Estate Registry running the national tokenization infrastructure. As of October 2026, the infrastructure is live, a small group of proptechs are operating inside REGA's regulatory sandbox and pilot transactions have been completed. What has not been confirmed is the passage of a national tokenization law, a public rollout, published technical specifications or a secondary market for tokens.

For a proptech or developer tokenizing title deeds, the route in is a REGA sandbox application. Saudi Arabia has no crypto licence for this activity, and whether the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has a role depends on how the token is structured, as the securities section below explains. This guide sets out who regulates what, what has happened since November 2025, how the sandbox stages work and what to prepare before you apply.

REGA supervises tokenized title deeds

The tokenization programme sits with the real estate regulator. REGA supervised the first title-deed tokenization and runs the sandbox that admits proptechs. The Real Estate Registry operates the blockchain infrastructure on which title records are managed and transfers are recorded. Minister Al-Hogail, who chairs REGA's board, announced the first transaction.

The CMA has no published rulebook for tokenized real estate, and its role in this area has not been confirmed in any source we found. That does not mean securities law is irrelevant. If a token is structured so that holders receive a share of rental income or profit from a pooled property vehicle, rather than a registered fractional interest in a title deed, you have to ask whether it falls within the Capital Market Law's definition of a security.

Tokenization milestones from November 2025 to April 2026

The record so far is a short run of announcements, pilots and one sandbox window. Several of the most detailed accounts come from technology vendors rather than from REGA, so the table marks the source type for each entry.

The Cityscape transaction

The November 2025 deal matters because it was announced by the minister and carried out under direct REGA supervision.

Competing "first" claims

Treat the word "first" with care. SettleMint's releases describe the national infrastructure as a global first and describe the January 2026 proptech transactions as the Kingdom's first tokenized real estate transactions. These are company statements about the vendor's own work. The transaction that a government official announced as the first under REGA supervision is the November 2025 Cityscape deal.

Where things stood in April 2026

Enterprise's April 2026 report is the most recent detailed account in the public record we reviewed. It said a June 2026 rollout was being targeted, that Ghanem held a licence within REGA's sandbox and that no secondary trading platform existed. It also reported that permanent licensing depends on a national tokenization law that was pending final approval. A company quoted in the piece said investors could enter from SAR 1,000, which is a company claim and not a regulatory minimum.

For the wider set of conferences and announcements across the same period, see our Saudi fintech events guide for 2025 to 2026.

How the REGA tokenization sandbox works

REGA's second regulatory sandbox, opened on 13 February 2026, includes tokenization. According to Argaam's report, it runs in four stages, with maximum durations set for the first three.

On those figures, an applicant could wait up to 150 working days, roughly seven months, before testing starts. Add a testing period of up to two years and the outer limit is more than two and a half years. The business plan and runway should allow for those maximums.

Argaam also reported that sandbox acceptance is not full regulatory approval. That point affects how you describe your status to investors and customers. Being accepted into the sandbox lets you test under supervision. It is not a permanent licence, and the Enterprise report suggests permanent licensing cannot happen until the national tokenization law is approved.

The SPA headline confirms the sandbox launch date. The detailed stage timings come from Argaam's report; REGA's own English release on the second sandbox could not be retrieved when this guide was prepared, so check the stage rules, and whether applications are still being accepted, directly with REGA before you file.

What is still unconfirmed in October 2026

Several things founders expect to be in place have not been confirmed by any source we could verify.

• Passage of a national tokenization law. Enterprise reported in April 2026 that the law was pending final approval, and we found no confirmation that it has passed.
• The June 2026 public rollout. It was reported as a target. We found no confirmation that it happened.
• A secondary marketplace. SettleMint's release named a national tokenized marketplace as a next stage with no date, and Enterprise reported no secondary platform in April 2026.
• Published technical specifications for connecting to the Real Estate Registry infrastructure, including the open API that SettleMint's release described as a later stage.
• Tax treatment. We found no Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) guidance on how tokens or token transfers are treated for tax purposes.
• The CMA's role. There is no CMA tokenization rulebook, and the CMA's position on tokenized real estate products has not been confirmed in any source we found.

Earlier reports of a larger cohort of tokenization platforms in the sandbox could not be verified, so this guide names only the four proptechs in the January 2026 pilot and Ghanem's reported sandbox licence.

The practical consequence is that liquidity is limited. Without a secondary market, a token holder may have no regulated venue to sell to another investor. Any product material that implies easy exit should be checked against that reality.

How tokenized title deeds differ from crypto assets

Saudi Arabia has no virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence, crypto-exchange licence or equivalent regime. A tokenized title deed is a record of an interest in registered Saudi property, held on infrastructure operated by the Real Estate Registry. That infrastructure is integrated with national systems including Nafath (national digital identity), Absher (government e-services) and mada (national debit card network).

Founders coming from crypto sometimes assume that a tokenization sandbox opens the door to issuing or trading other digital assets. It does not. The sandbox is limited to real estate and sits with REGA. If your model involves crypto custody, exchange, stablecoins or tokens not tied to Saudi title deeds, you face a different and largely unresolved set of questions. Digital asset perimeter advice covers where those activities sit under current Saudi rules.

For a product team, four differences matter:

• The underlying asset is a Saudi property title registered with the Real Estate Registry, and the token records an interest in it.
• Identity checks integrate with national systems: Nafath and Absher on the infrastructure, and Yakeen (identity verification) in the January 2026 pilot.
• The January 2026 pilot was integrated with Sadad (national bill payment system) for payments, and the wider infrastructure links to mada.
• The supervisor is REGA, with the Real Estate Registry holding the infrastructure.

What a proptech or developer should prepare

REGA's readiness assessment can run up to 120 working days. Controls that are built and documented before you apply leave less to fix during that stage.

AML and KYC

Fractional ownership changes the AML profile of real estate. A single property can be held by many small investors, and a company has reported entry points as low as SAR 1,000. Your AML and compliance function needs a customer due diligence process that scales to that volume, source-of-funds checks proportionate to the amounts involved and transaction monitoring that can spot structuring across many small purchases.

Non-Saudi investors raise a further question. The non-Saudi property ownership law took effect on 22 January 2026, with applications through the Saudi Properties portal and restrictions on Makkah and Madinah. How those rules apply to a foreign holder of a fractional token has not been confirmed, so your onboarding should be able to identify non-Saudi investors and the location of the underlying property.

Data protection

The pilot transactions integrated with Yakeen, and the infrastructure links to Absher and Nafath. That means you will handle national identity data. Plan where it is stored, who can access it, how long it is kept and how token ownership records relate to personal records.

Shariah structure

SettleMint's release describes the infrastructure as supporting Shariah-compliant structures, but we found no published standard setting out what that requires for a tokenized deed. Investors will ask. Before launch, decide whether you will obtain a Shariah opinion on the ownership structure, how rental income is distributed, whether any return is guaranteed and how fees are charged. A structure built on a registered fractional interest in the title is easier to explain than one that pays a fixed return.

Governance and the securities question

Expect REGA to ask who is accountable for the platform, how conflicts are managed where the developer also sells the tokens, and how holders are told about the property, its valuation and their rights. Document these in board-approved policies before the readiness assessment.

Then test your structure against securities law. If holders own a registered share of the title deed, the product matches what REGA's programme has tested so far, although the CMA has not published a view on where such interests sit. If they hold units in a fund, notes paying a return or interests in a company that owns property, the product may be a security under the Capital Market Law and require a CMA licence or CMA approval for the offering. There is no CMA tokenization rulebook to settle the point, so take advice while the product is still on paper.

Planning around an unfinished framework

Saudi real estate tokenization is supervised and the national infrastructure is live, but it is still a sandbox programme. Permanent licensing depends on a law that has not been confirmed as passed, and neither a secondary market nor ZATCA tax guidance has been confirmed. A proptech applying now should budget for the full sandbox timeline and describe its status to investors as sandbox participation. Unless it is ready for CMA regulation as well, it should keep its product structure on the REGA side of the securities line.

Saudi Compliance advises proptechs and developers on where a tokenization product sits between REGA's programme, securities law and the wider digital asset perimeter. If you are preparing a sandbox application, contact us to review your structure and controls first.

Sources

• Amlak: First property title-deed tokenization announced at Cityscape Global 2025
• Ledger Insights: Saudi Arabia real estate tokenization
• SettleMint (vendor release): Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launches national real estate tokenization infrastructure
• SettleMint (vendor release): SettleMint supports KSA's first tokenised real estate transactions
• Amlak: Real Estate Future Forum 2026 closing recommendations
• REGA: Non-Saudi property ownership system enters into force
• Argaam: REGA launches second regulatory sandbox
• SPA: REGA second regulatory sandbox announcement
• Enterprise: Under the hood of the Kingdom's shift to digital real estate deeds

General information, not legal advice. Saudi rules change; we confirm every requirement against the regulator's current text before you file.