Sources reviewed
What did the receipt actually say?
For a brokered deal, earnest money must be identified in writing. Otherwise the payment is an advance the seller cannot retain upon rescission. The cap is 5% of transaction value and any excess is an advance. On a SAR 1 million sale with SAR 70,000 paid, at most SAR 50,000 qualifies as earnest money and SAR 20,000 is an advance. The broker cannot retain it as security for commission. [1]
Who caused completion to fail?
Receipt of earnest money commits the seller to complete. In a brokered transaction involving defect-free property, buyer-attributable failure to complete means loss of the earnest money. If the cause is not attributable to the buyer it is returned. Read the finance condition, approval deadline and bank correspondence. A mortgage rejection alone does not identify who assumed the risk. [1] Preserve the transfer receipt and the message recording the payment’s character and financing condition in digital form for production. An extract carries the record’s evidentiary weight to the extent it matches that record. [3]
What if the parties contracted directly?
Under the general civil rule, earnest money paid at contract formation gives the payer alone the option to withdraw and forfeit it unless agreed otherwise. Where no withdrawal period was fixed, the court sets it by custom and circumstances. Silence until expiry or failure to perform during the period counts as withdrawal. Compare the agreement, transfer description and formation date. [2]
Demand and temporal scope · 2026-10-30
Send a ledger separating earnest money from the advance and identifying the recipient and reason completion failed. The Brokerage Law took effect 180 days after publication. For older direct transactions check the Civil Transactions Law’s transitional decree, including any claim-barring period already running before commencement. [1][2]
Sources
- نظام الوساطة العقارية | Real Estate Brokerage Law 13(1)–(4), 24
- نظام المعاملات المدنية | Civil Transactions Law 44, 721; Royal Decree M/191, clause V
- نظام الإثبات | Evidence Law 54, 60, 63(1)
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