Your Guide to Approved Labour Cities in Riyadh

You need beds in Riyadh for a crew arriving soon, and you want a labour city that will not draw a fine. An approved labour city is one where the building's use for worker housing is licensed on Balady, its site sits in a zone where worker housing is allowed, and its rooms meet the MHRSD standard. Check all three before you pay a deposit.

Key facts

• Balady shows whether a building may be used as worker housing, based on licence, land classification and location

• MHRSD sets the standard for employer housing: living space, beds, sanitation and basic services

• Municipal rules restrict labour accommodation in family residential areas

• A missing item in any compliance layer can lead to fines or closure

Know what makes a Riyadh labour city approved

When you search for housing for your crew in Riyadh, you will see many listings that call a place an "approved labour city". Few of them say approved by whom.

That is the gap in most advice on approved labour cities in Riyadh. "Approved" is treated as one stamp. In practice it is three separate checks, and a camp can pass one and fail another.

• Balady (the municipality): through the Balady platform, the municipality decides whether the building may house workers at all, based on its licence, the classification of its land and its location.

• Zoning: municipal rules restrict labour accommodation in family residential areas, so authorities typically steer worker housing toward designated or industrial zones. A licensed building in the wrong district is still a problem.

• MHRSD (the labour ministry): it sets the standard for employer-provided housing: living space, beds, sanitation and basic services. Under Saudi labour rules, the duty to provide adequate, safe and hygienic housing sits with you as the employer, not with the landlord.

A missing item in any one layer can lead to fines or closure of the building, and that risk lands on the company that housed the workers.

This post covers Riyadh only, and follows one path: shortlist, verify, inspect, price and move in. It does not cover other cities, family housing or visa and Iqama procedures. The next section starts where you should: choosing the zone before you look at a single price.

Shortlist by zone and commute, not by price alone

Start with a map, not a price list. Pin every site your crews work at in Riyadh, then mark the industrial zones around them. Worker housing belongs in designated or industrial zones, so your search area is already narrower than the whole city.

Reject any building in a family residential district before you ask about rates. Municipal rules restrict labour accommodation in family areas, and a cheap bed there can end in a fine or a closure notice. Do not argue with the landlord about it. Cross it off the list and move on.

For the buildings that remain, rank by commute. Ask each provider to confirm in writing:

• Bus time per shift: the real minutes from the gate to your site at shift change, not the distance in kilometres. Riyadh traffic at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. is not the same as noon.

• Who provides the bus: your own fleet, the provider's, or nothing. Transport is usually priced separately from beds, so a close site with no bus can cost more than a far one with a bus.

• Number of drop points: one crew with three sites means three routes. Check whether the provider can serve all of them.

• Zone fit: the north, south and east of Riyadh each suit different work. Our Riyadh district guide compares them side by side.

Keep three to five candidates. Fewer than that leaves you with no leverage, and more than that wastes site-visit days. Write each candidate's address and commute time on one sheet, because the next step needs the exact address to check the licence.

Verify the licence on Balady before any deposit

Check the licence before you pay anything. A brochure, a site visit and a friendly manager prove nothing. The municipality decides, through the Balady platform, whether a building may be used as worker housing, and it decides by the building's licence, its land classification and its location.

Start by asking the operator for the licence number in writing. An email or a WhatsApp message is enough. A genuine operator sends it within a day. If you get excuses, a photo of an expired paper, or "the licence is in process", treat the building as unlicensed until proven otherwise.

Then check it yourself. Your company's account officer, or the person who manages your Balady access, can look up the licence and confirm what the building is permitted to be used for. Do this before the deposit, never after. Our guide on verifying worker accommodation is genuinely licensed walks through the steps in more detail.

Once the record is open, match it against the offer:

• Permitted use: the licence must cover labour accommodation, not offices, apartments or storage.

• Address: the street, district and building number must match the site you were shown, not a neighbouring plot.

• Licence holder: the name should match the party signing your contract. If it differs, ask for the lease or management agreement in writing.

Any gap here can lead to fines or closure, and your workers pay for it by being moved on short notice. A clean licence only settles the municipal layer. Next, you walk the site and test it against the labour ministry's standard.

Walk the site against the MHRSD checklist

A Balady licence tells you the building may house workers. It does not tell you the rooms are fit to live in. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) sets the standard for employer-provided housing: living space, beds, sanitation and basic services. Book a visit before you sign, and go in person.

Bring a phone, a printed checklist and the person who will manage the site day to day. Visit in the afternoon, when heat and kitchen use are at their peak. Ask to see a full block, not only the model room.

Check five things in every block:

• Cooling and air: Switch on the air conditioners and confirm each one works properly. Check that the room gets enough fresh air, with no sealed, stale rooms.

• Water supply: Run taps in the bathrooms and kitchen. Ask how drinking water is supplied and whether supply is continuous, including in summer.

• Kitchens and toilets: Count them against the number of occupants in that block. Look for cleanliness, working fittings and drainage.

• Beds: One proper bed for every worker, with no shared or improvised sleeping.

• Lockers: One locker per worker, and test that it locks.

Photograph every gap, with the room or block number visible in the frame. Send the list to the operator the same day by email or WhatsApp, and ask for a written reply with a fix date for each item. A verbal promise at the gate is worth nothing later.

Be firm here, because a missing item can lead to fines or closure of the building. The employer carries the duty to provide adequate, safe and hygienic housing, so a failed check becomes your problem, not the landlord's. For the full labour-law layer, read the MHRSD accommodation requirements before you visit.

Once the gaps are fixed on paper, you can price the real thing.

Compare full cost: beds, meals and transport

Ask every shortlisted city for one written quote that splits bed, utilities, maintenance, meals and transport into separate lines. A low per-bed price often hides what sits outside it. Mnzil's own model shows the usual split: accommodation is one price, while transport and meals are add-ons priced separately.

Start with the bed line. Confirm in writing whether the price covers water, electricity, internet and routine repairs, or whether the operator bills them on top. Ask who pays when an air-conditioning unit fails in August. If the quote is silent, assume you pay.

Then price the two groups differently. Blue-collar crews on remote sites usually need all three lines: bed, three meals and a daily bus. White-collar staff housed near an office may need only the bed, with a transport allowance instead of a bus. Do not buy a package built for the first group when you are housing the second.

Total the lines per worker per month, then compare cities on that figure. Our worker housing budgeting guide shows how to build that sheet.

With one comparable number per city, you can pick a winner and move to the contract.

Sign, move in and keep the file current

Put the licence in the contract, not just in the sales pitch. Before you sign, attach the Balady licence details you verified earlier and add a clause that the operator must keep the approval valid for the whole term. If the licence lapses or the building is closed, the contract should say what happens to your beds, your deposit and your notice period. Ask for those terms in writing. The page on long-term labour accommodation contracts covers bed guarantees and exit terms in more detail.

Name the compliance duties as well. Under Saudi labour rules the employer who houses workers stays responsible for adequate, safe and hygienic accommodation, so the contract should show who maintains air conditioning, water supply, kitchens, bathrooms and lockable lockers. A missing item in any layer can lead to fines or closure, and a contract that is silent leaves that risk with you.

Plan arrival day before the workers land. Agree the date, the number of beds, and who hands over keys and room allocations. Walk in with a bed list and confirm that each worker has a bed and a lockable locker. Photograph the rooms and note any defects the same day, and send the list to the operator by email so there is a dated record.

After move-in, keep one file per site. Store the contract, the licence copy, the handover photos and every maintenance request. Set a calendar reminder to re-check licence status on Balady before each renewal.

If you would rather have one party running housing, meals and buses, Talk to Mnzil.

• Contract: attach licence details and a validity clause.

• Duties: name who maintains cooling, water, kitchens and lockers.

• Handover: count beds, photograph rooms, email defects.

• File: keep licence, contract and requests together.

• Renewal: re-check Balady before every renewal.

Frequently asked questions

Can I house workers in a rented villa in a Riyadh residential district?

Usually not. Municipal rules restrict labour accommodation in family residential areas, and authorities typically steer worker housing toward designated or industrial zones. Balady shows whether a building may be used as worker housing, based on its licence, land classification and location. Check there before renting.

Who is fined if an unlicensed labour city is found: the landlord or the employer?

Do not assume only one party carries the risk. The duty to provide adequate, safe and hygienic housing sits with the employer, and a missing licence can lead to fines or closure of the building. Ask your legal adviser who is liable, and check the penalty notice itself.

Do white-collar staff need to be housed in a labour city too?

Not necessarily. A labour city is built for blue-collar workers. White-collar staff can be housed in furnished rooms or shared units, as long as the building is licensed for residential use and meets the employer's housing duty. Confirm the building's licensed use on Balady first.

How long does it take to confirm a labour city's licence on Balady?

The facts available do not give a fixed time, so do not rely on a number. Balady is where the municipality records whether a building may house workers. Look up the licence before paying a deposit, and ask the operator for the licence document too.

Are meals and transport usually included in labour city bed prices?

Usually not. Bed prices normally cover the bed, utilities and maintenance, while transport and meals are add-ons priced separately. Ask for a written quote that lists each item. With Mnzil, for example, catering starts from SAR 12 per worker per day, with no minimum order.

What should I do if a labour city's licence expires during my contract?

Ask the operator for the renewal in writing and check the licence status on Balady. Do not wait for a fine or closure, since a missing approval puts the employer at risk. Keep a backup option, and read your contract for exit and refund terms.

Talk to Mnzil