Expat housemates sharing a villa in Riyadh usually split rent, electricity, water, internet and often a cleaner or other shared help. Rent is best split by room, since villa rooms vary a lot. Electricity needs more care than in most countries, because Saudi residential tariffs are tiered and large summer air-conditioning bills move into a higher price per unit. Agree the method for every bill before the first hot month.
The lease and Ejar
Every residential lease in Saudi Arabia is registered on Ejar, the government's rental platform run by the Real Estate General Authority.
For expats, an Ejar-registered contract is also how you prove your address for services. If several unrelated people share a villa, check with the landlord how the contract and its registration should reflect that. This guide covers how to split the costs, not the rules about the contract itself.
Rent paid in advance
Saudi rents are often paid annually or in a small number of instalments in advance, though monthly payment plans have become more common.
If one housemate pays a large instalment up front, the others owe them their share. The cleanest arrangement is a fixed monthly transfer to that person. Alternatively, each housemate pays their share of each instalment directly when it falls due. Choose one and write it down, because an annual payment means a large amount sits in one person's account.
Split the rent by room. A villa's master bedroom with its own bathroom and a small room off the hallway are not worth the same. The method and calculator in how to split rent by room size work in SAR.
Electricity: why summer bills are different
Saudi Electricity Company's residential tariff has two tiers. Consumption up to 6,000 kWh a month is charged at 18 halalas per kWh, and anything above 6,000 kWh at 30 halalas, with VAT added on top.
A villa running several air conditioners through a Riyadh summer can pass 6,000 kWh in a month. When it does, every extra unit costs two thirds more. A worked example for a 7,500 kWh summer month:
| Part | Units | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| First tier | 6,000 kWh | SAR 0.18 | SAR 1,080 |
| Second tier | 1,500 kWh | SAR 0.30 | SAR 450 |
| Before fees and VAT | 7,500 kWh | SAR 1,530 | |
| With 15% VAT | About SAR 1,760 |
Split five ways that is about SAR 352 each. A mild month at 2,500 kWh would be SAR 450 before VAT, about SAR 103 each with VAT. Nobody is surprised by the difference if it was discussed in March.
Should the person with the most AC pay more?
This is the question most villa shares argue about in July.
- Equal split: simplest, and fair when everyone cools their room in a similar way.
- By room size: fair when rooms, and therefore AC units, differ a lot. Larger rooms need more cooling.
- A summer top-up: everyone pays equally, and anyone who wants their room cooled all day, every day, adds a fixed monthly amount from June to September.
Room-by-room meters are rare, so measuring individual use is usually not possible. A clear rule agreed in spring beats an exact calculation argued about in August.
Water, internet and shared help
The other regular costs, and the usual fair split.
| Cost | Usual split | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Equally | Billed separately from electricity |
| Internet | Equally | Anyone wanting a faster plan pays the difference |
| Cleaner or shared help | Equally, or by rooms cleaned | Agree hours and tasks in writing |
| Gas cylinders | Equally, or by who cooks | Small but frequent |
| Compound fees or maintenance | In proportion to rent | Tied to the property, like rent |
| Shared groceries | From a kitty | Personal food bought separately |
Deposits and moving out
Expat housemates change more often than most.
- Record who paid each deposit and how much.
- Agree the notice a housemate gives before leaving, and who finds a replacement.
- Agree whether a leaver keeps paying rent until replaced or until their notice ends.
- When someone leaves, have the newcomer pay the leaver's deposit share directly, so deposits with the landlord stay in place.
The free roommate agreement template has a section for each of these. For a flat in the UAE, see splitting a flat in Dubai.
Tracking it in SAR
A villa share produces the same bills every month, plus the summer surprises.
In EconoGlance, create the villa's group in Saudi riyals, add rent as a recurring expense split by exact amounts, and add each bill as it arrives, split by the rule you agreed. Group totals show what the villa costs each month and over the year, which is useful when the lease comes up for renewal. Members can also add their bank details to the group, so whoever paid the bill can be repaid without asking for an IBAN again.
