Is It Legal for a Saudi Landlord to Cut Your Electricity?

No, a landlord in Saudi Arabia cannot legally cut a tenant's electricity to pressure payment or force an eviction. Disconnecting utilities without a court or committee order is a form of unlawful self-help action - a landlord seeking to end a tenancy or recover unpaid rent must go through the Rental Disputes Committee, not act unilaterally.

Why Utility Disconnection Is Treated as Unlawful Self-Help

Saudi tenancy disputes - including non-payment of rent and eviction - are handled through the Rental Disputes Committee (RDC), which issues binding rulings on eviction, payment, and compensation. A landlord bypassing this process by cutting electricity, changing locks, or otherwise forcing a tenant out without a ruling is acting outside the legal process, and a tenant subjected to this can raise it as a grievance in its own right before the RDC, separate from any underlying rent dispute.

Whose Name Is the Electricity Account In?

In many Saudi rentals, the electricity meter contract with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) remains in the landlord's name rather than being transferred to the tenant, which is precisely what makes a unilateral disconnection possible in practice, even though it isn't lawful. Tenants can check who holds the account and, where the landlord agrees or the lease permits it, transfer the meter into their own name through the SEC app or website - reducing the landlord's practical ability to cut power unilaterally in the future.

What to Do If Your Electricity Has Been Cut

• Document the disconnection - dates, photos, and any messages or calls with the landlord about it
• File a complaint with the Rental Disputes Committee, generally accessible through the Najiz platform, addressing both the disconnection and any underlying rent dispute
• Check and, where possible, transfer the electricity account into your own name through the Saudi Electricity Company's app to prevent a repeat
• Raise the disconnection as a basis for compensation before the Committee, in addition to resolving the underlying rent issue

Key Takeaways

• Cutting a tenant's electricity is unlawful self-help - eviction and rent disputes must go through the Rental Disputes Committee.
• Tenants can file with the RDC (via Najiz) and may claim compensation for the disconnection itself.
• Checking and transferring the electricity account into your own name via the SEC app reduces the risk of a repeat.

Conclusion

A landlord cutting off electricity is a common but unlawful pressure tactic in Saudi rental disputes, and tenants have a real remedy through the Rental Disputes Committee rather than having to simply accept it. Documenting what happened and, where possible, moving the utility account into your own name are the two most practical steps to protect yourself both now and going forward.