Owners’ society vs owners’ association: what is the difference?

What does the law say? “Owners’ society” is the official term

The body is governed by the Real Estate Units Ownership, Subdivision and Management Law, issued by Royal Decree No. (M/85) dated 2/7/1441 AH, which replaced the 1423 AH Real Estate Units Ownership and Subdivision Law. Its first article defines the owners’ society as a body formed by the owners, or their representatives, in a shared property to manage all its affairs under the law and the society’s articles of association.

Where a shared property has three or more owners of subdivided units, the law requires them to form a society and register it with REGA; once registered, it has its own legal personality and financial liability. The executive regulation published by REGA uses the same term throughout, and neither it nor the law mentions «اتحاد الملاك». For more, see the guide to the owners’ association law in Saudi Arabia.

The old 1423 AH law also said «جمعية الملاك», so the legal term has not changed in over two decades; what changed, among other things, is where the society registers: today, with REGA.

Where does the name “owners’ union” come from?

Before the current law, the Ministry of Housing ran the Mullak programme, which let owners in jointly owned buildings form a body to manage their common parts online, and presented that body to the public as the «اتحاد الملاك» (owners’ union). As late as early 2020, newspapers called it the ministry’s “owners’ union” programme, and the name stuck with owners, chairmen and the media.

Then the new law and its executive regulation were issued in 1441 AH, and REGA became the body that registers and regulates societies. Its Mullak platform now says «جمعية الملاك» in its services and news, such as electing the society’s chair, billing contributions and renewing the society’s certificate. Yet the old name survives, for clear reasons:

• The popular name predates the current law, and early unions grew used to it.
• «اتحاد» (union) suggests owners joining for a shared interest, which feels clearer.
• «جمعية» (society) is used widely and is sometimes taken for a charity or cooperative.
• Most people search for «اتحاد الملاك», and websites follow them.

Owners’ society vs owners’ union compared

To make the picture clear, here is how the two names compare on the points owners ask about most.

Source and usage

The law, the regulation, REGA and Mullak say “owners’ society”; everyday speech, the media and the former Ministry of Housing programme say “owners’ union”.

Legal status

No difference. The law knows one body, the owners’ society; the “owners’ union” is that same body, with its own legal personality and financial liability once registered with REGA, and the same obligations to owners and the property.

Names inside the body

The law speaks of the “general assembly” of all owners, which elects a chair from its members for a renewable three-year term, and of the “manager” who runs the shared property, who may or may not be an owner. In everyday speech people say “the union’s chairman” and “union fees”, which the law calls the chair of the general assembly and owners’ contributions.

Where will you see each name?

The name you meet depends on where you read:

• Mullak, registration certificates and REGA messages: owners’ society.
• Contracts with management and maintenance companies: preferably the name on the certificate.
• News, articles and search engines: both, mostly “owners’ union”.
• Neighbours’ conversations and groups: mostly “owners’ union”.

Not every «جمعية» is an owners’ society

Part of the confusion is that «جمعية» names very different bodies in the Kingdom, each with its own law and supervisor. The best known:

Housing cooperatives

A cooperative is formed by individuals who pool their efforts to improve their economic and social situation on cooperative principles; it has its own law and is supervised by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. A housing cooperative serves its members in housing, but it is not an owners’ society: membership is voluntary, while an owners’ society rests on ownership in a shared property, and owning a unit where a society exists counts as accepting its articles of association.

Civil and charitable associations

Non-profit bodies in charitable, social, cultural and other fields, with their own law and supervisor, and nothing to do with managing a shared property.

The complex society

This alone belongs to the owners’ society family: the law lets owners of shared properties within a real estate complex form a “complex society” of representatives from each property’s owners’ society, governed by the owners’ society rules as far as its nature allows.

Owners’ associations outside the Kingdom

Other countries have similar bodies under other names and laws, such as homeowners’ associations in the United States. In Dubai, the Land Department runs a system called Mollak, which sounds like the Saudi Mullak but falls under a different Dubai law and has no link to the Saudi platform. When you search, make sure your source is Saudi.

Whatever the name, good management is the same

Whether you call it an owners’ society or an owners’ union, success depends on how it is run, not on its name. The law sets the framework: a registered society, articles of association, a general assembly that approves the budget, and a manager who prepares the draft budget, the financial statements and an activity report. Daily work needs steady practices that any union chairman knows:

• An up-to-date register of units, owners, residents and shares, showing who owns each unit today.
• A clear channel for maintenance requests, each with an owner, a status and a closing date.
• Published rules for using and booking the shared facilities.
• Clarity on owners’ contributions and spending, ahead of the general assembly.
• Records that stay with the union when the chair or manager changes, not on one person’s phone.

Which name should you use?

The practical rule: use «جمعية الملاك» (owners’ society) where legal precision matters, such as official letters, contracts, general assembly minutes and the articles of association, because it is the name in the law and on the registration certificate. In daily communication, use whatever your neighbours understand, or combine them the first time: “the owners’ union (the owners’ society registered with REGA)”.

If you read about the «اتحاد الملاك» in an article or forum, check the date: some pre-1441 AH material describes the former Ministry of Housing programme, and the authority and procedures have since changed. The most reliable reference is the law and regulation on REGA’s website. To set one up, see the guide to establishing an owners’ association; for contributions, the guide to owners’ association fees.