RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s property rental service Ejar has recorded over 8 million lease contracts since its launch in February 2018, reported the General Real Estate Authority. The platform registered 6.6 million residential and over 1.3 million commercial agreements on the electronic rental service network that is connected to the Sakani platform, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Documented rentals in 2023, the highest record year, exceeded 2.8 million contracts, with the greatest daily rate of contract documentation reaching 18,000 in a single day, the authority said in a statement. The General Real Estate Authority explained that Ejar enables customers to benefit from qualitative features that enhance trust between parties and improve the efficiency of transactions. These services include access to the rental index, receipt and delivery, saving the security amount, evaluating rental behavior, and the possibility of making partial payments. This comes as part of an ongoing surge in Saudi Arabia’s lettings market, with the rental index rising by 22 percent in September 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to official statistics. Over 294,000 residential and commercial rental transactions were documented in September of 2023, as reported by Ejar. The platform’s relevance was underscored by Taiseer Al-Mofrej, a General Real Estate Authority spokesperson, who said that people wishing to complete unit leasing operations should avoid negotiating with unlicensed brokers who claim to be real estate brokers, offices, or owners. In order to bypass this, buyers and tenants can learn more about the rent and property prices on Ejar to ensure that the quoted price falls within the average costs of real estate units in the area. Ejar further allows tenants to directly transfer electronic payments through the channels offered by the platform, Al-Mofrej highlighted, noting that tenants must be wary of direct financial transfers to bank accounts to reduce fraud.