RIYADH —The National Program for Developing Group Housing for Individuals has stressed the importance of establishments with fewer than 250 targeted employees regularizing their worker accommodation and meeting all regulatory requirements ahead of the final phase of mandatory implementation, which begins on February 1, 2027. The program, chaired by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, regulates worker accommodations across Saudi Arabia to ensure health, safety, and quality-of-life standards. The measure includes complying with the applicable regulations and providing licensed group housing, as part of efforts to regulate worker accommodation and improve the quality of the residential environment in the cities across Saudi Arabia.The program clarified that the remaining period before the requirement takes effect constitutes a grace period, allowing establishments sufficient time to complete the necessary procedures. The program reaffirmed its commitment to supporting establishments and helping them regularize their status through approved regulatory channels, ensuring compliance and readiness for implementation. It explained that establishments can regularize their worker accommodation through one of two approved options. The first is to obtain a shared accommodation license for the establishment’s building through approved licensing platforms, after meeting the prescribed health, technical, and safety requirements. The second is to enter into contracts with pre-licensed shared accommodation units, enabling establishments to provide regulated housing for their employees without having to operate their own residential facilities. The program underscored the importance of completing licensing procedures or contracting with licensed accommodation providers without delay and within the grace period. It noted that compliance with the approved options would help regulate worker accommodation, strengthen adherence to health, technical, and safety standards, and curb the unauthorized use of residential buildings. The program explained that regulating shared accommodation aims to provide suitable living conditions that meet health and safety standards, enhance quality of life, and improve the urban landscape, while striking a balance between enabling establishments to carry out their activities and ensuring compliance with the regulations governing worker accommodation. The program urged eligible establishments to make full use of the grace period by completing the required procedures through approved platforms or selecting licensed accommodation units to avoid potential legal consequences for non-compliance, in accordance with the approved regulations and guidelines.It is worthy to note that several ministries and government agencies have membership in the National Program for Developing Group Housing for Individuals, headed by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing.