Many residents in the Kingdom have claimed that they have been defrauded by housekeepers while seeking reasonable and affordable rental accommodations. Several families have complained that the housekeepers — whose primary task is to show and sell the flat to the customer — are taking advantage of residents by charging a fixed amount to reserve the flat in which they are interested. Syed Nasrullah, an Indian resident said “I paid SR1,000 to a housekeeper in order to reserve a flat. This price has become a standard amount among them. If we fail to pay the amount, they refuse to give us the flat.”

Similarly another resident, Mohammed Ziyad, who opted to look for flats by himself, said “The real estate agents hide the actual price of flats and after noticing the difference in the prices, I started looking for a flat all by myself. After viewing around six flats, I was surprised to find out that all the housekeepers maintained a standard fee to reserve a flat and raise the price charged if one needs it urgently.”

However, accommodation rental prices have skyrocketed, with house-owners continuing to gauge the residents' ability to pay by increasing the rent every year.

Commenting on the “holding fee” phenomenon, one of the housekeepers said that their monthly salary is around SR1,500 and with this they try to earn extra amount. Moreover, this has become common among all them as they follow this system, willingly or unwillingly.

Hashim Shehry, a house owner, said that many residents readily pay the amount to the housekeepers, thereby giving rise to the illegitimate local practice. “To bring a halt to this activity, it is important that the residents should avoid paying to housekeepers and complain about this problem to the house owner. Legally, tenants are only responsible for paying the rent,” he added.

Residents have since urged authorities to start taking the necessary measures to bring an end to these illegal activities.