Monthly Rent Pre-Application Checklist for Saudi Arabia: What to Prepare Before You Apply

Before you apply for monthly rent, prepare four things: your basic details, the required document, the home and its annual rent, and your answers to the readiness questions the application form asks: Have you chosen the home? Have you spoken to the landlord? Will the landlord accept the rent in two payments? This checklist walks through each item in order, so you start your monthly rent application knowing what will be asked and what happens after you submit. For the wider picture of renting in Saudi Arabia, from choosing a unit to documenting the lease, see our step-by-step guide to renting in Saudi Arabia.

What a monthly rent application looks like

You start by signing in with your mobile number, then move through a four-step form: identity (your ID number, and your date of birth if asked), rent details (your city, the annual rent, when the first payment starts and the readiness questions), a document upload, then review and submit. The form is short; what makes it long is stopping halfway to look for a number or a file. So the list below covers everything the form asks for: finish it, and every answer is ready before you are asked for it.

1. Your basic details: phone, ID and date of birth

On the sign-up page you enter a Saudi mobile number starting with 05 and receive a verification code by SMS, so keep that phone in hand. The form then asks for your 10-digit ID number, whether a Saudi national ID or an Iqama (resident ID), and it may ask for your date of birth in the Hijri or Gregorian calendar. Type the ID carefully: the form will not accept an invalid number.

On eligibility, you must be a Saudi citizen or a legal resident with income that can be verified. Each application is reviewed individually, and approval cannot be promised before the review is complete. If your type of work makes income your first question, there is a guide for each case: monthly rent for government employees and monthly rent for the self-employed.

2. The required document: download it to your phone first

At the start of the form, a note headed "Before you start — you will need:" names the document required and where to get it. Download it before you begin, not halfway through:

• It is uploaded as a PDF of up to 10 MB.
• If you downloaded it on your phone, pick it from the Downloads folder when you upload.
• On a slow connection the upload can take a minute or more; switching to Wi-Fi speeds it up.
• Keep the page open until the upload finishes.

During the review you may also be asked for a supporting document that shows your income, such as a recent salary certificate. If that request arrives, attach it from your application page and resubmit, because the application does not go back to review without it.

3. The home: have you chosen the unit?

This is the first readiness question on the form: "Have you chosen the apartment?" If your answer is no, you can still complete the application, but the arrangement is only completed on a specific unit you choose yourself: Dlight does not list units or search for homes on your behalf. The application waits for the property to be identified until you have one. When you choose, look at:

• The type of unit: a studio, a floor (dowr) and a villa differ in rent and in running costs. See our guides to renting a studio monthly, renting a floor monthly and villa rent instalments.
• Viewing it yourself: Dlight does not inspect the property or vouch for its condition. Look at the kitchen and the AC units if there are any, ask whether the electricity and water meters are separate, and take dated photos of the unit's condition at handover.
• The broker and the listing: if you deal with an office or a real-estate broker, make sure they are licensed and that the listing carries an advertising licence number, and do not pay a deposit before you have viewed the unit.
• Bills and maintenance: these follow the lease terms. Dlight does not handle maintenance or bills, so count electricity, water and internet in your monthly spending.

4. The landlord: ask about two payments

The second question on the form is "Have you spoken to the landlord?", and after a yes the third appears: "Will the landlord accept the rent in two payments?" The reason is the usual arrangement: Dlight pays the landlord in two payments across the year, and you pay monthly. So raise this with the landlord or the office before you apply, and settle the annual rent, the lease term and the start date, because these figures are what your payment plan is built on.

If the landlord insists on receiving the whole year in one payment, the application may stop at this stage, and the team will contact you to look at the available options, with no promised outcome. To understand why some landlords hold on to the annual payment and how to open the conversation, read why Saudi landlords want a year's rent upfront.

5. The annual rent and when the first payment starts

In the rent-details step, the form asks for your city and the annual rent, then asks "When should your first rent payment start?" with two options: "From today — 12 payments" or "In a month — 11 payments, only the fee today". The first means the first payment is due when the plan starts; the second moves it back a month, so only the fee is due at the start. As you choose, the form shows an approximate monthly figure; the exact amount of each payment and the full cost are shown in Dlight's offer after approval, before you accept it, with no hidden charges afterwards.

Whether the monthly arrangement can be completed may vary from city to city, so choose your city as it is, and if it is not on the list, choose "Other" and type its name.

6. Work out your monthly budget: a worked example

Take this as a worked example only, not as a market price: a unit with an annual rent of 30,000 SAR.

• With 12 payments: 30,000 ÷ 12 = 2,500 SAR per payment.
• With 11 payments: 30,000 ÷ 11 = about 2,727 SAR per payment, in exchange for starting a month later.

These figures are the rent alone divided by the number of payments, before any fee and before electricity, water, internet and transport. Set the monthly amount against your net income after your fixed commitments, leave a margin for the unexpected, and do not treat a ready-made share of income as a binding rule: what matters is that the payment stays comfortable every month, not that it matches a general figure. If the large annual payment is what is holding your move back in the first place, read our guide to renting without paying a year upfront.

7. Common mistakes that slow an application down

• Entering the monthly rent in the annual rent field: the field asks for the full year's rent, and the payments are calculated from it.
• Starting without the document: you stop halfway and have to come back later.
• Closing the page during the upload: or uploading on a weak connection without waiting for it to finish.
• Answering the readiness questions before you are sure: ask the landlord about the two payments before you answer; an accurate answer today is easier than a correction later.

8. After you submit: review, payment schedule, then documentation

After you submit, the application is reviewed, and you may be asked for a change or an additional document, so follow your application page and reply quickly. If it is approved, you review the payment schedule before you proceed, and the lease is then documented on the Ejar platform in your name. Payment dates are set in the plan, and the first payment or a fee may be requested before the lease is documented or at its start. Before documentation, read the lease's term, end date and early-exit clauses, and put the end date in your calendar. To understand the Ejar platform and what you will find there after documentation, see what the Ejar platform is.

The short list before you press "Submit application"

1. Your mobile number is ready to receive the verification code.
2. Your national ID or Iqama number (10 digits), and your date of birth if asked.
3. The required document downloaded to your phone as a PDF of up to 10 MB.
4. Your city and the annual rent as agreed.
5. Your choice of when the first payment starts: from today (12 payments) or in a month (11 payments).
6. Your answer to the question about choosing the unit.
7. Your answer to the question about speaking to the landlord.
8. The landlord's answer on receiving the rent in two payments.
9. A monthly budget with room for the payment and the bills, plus a margin.
10. A stable connection for the upload, ideally Wi-Fi.

Once the list is complete, start your application at dlight.ai/register.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for monthly rent before I choose an apartment?

Yes. You can start the application and answer "no" to the question about choosing the apartment, but the arrangement is only completed on a specific unit you choose yourself, and the application waits until you have identified it, because Dlight does not list units or search for homes on your behalf.

What happens if the landlord wants the whole year in one payment?

In the usual arrangement, Dlight pays the landlord in two payments across the year and you pay monthly. If the landlord insists on a single payment, the application may stop at this stage, and the team will contact you to look at the available options, with no promised outcome.

What documents do I need to apply for monthly rent?

Your national ID or Iqama number, your date of birth if asked, and one document that the form names at the start, together with how to get it, uploaded as a PDF. During the review you may also be asked for a document that shows your income, such as a recent salary certificate.

Quick answers

How much does monthly rent with Dlight cost?

It depends on the rent and the plan. The full cost and the exact amount of each payment are shown in Dlight's offer after approval, before you accept it, with no hidden charges afterwards.

How do I know I am ready to apply for monthly rent?

When your details and the required document are ready, you know the annual rent, you can answer the readiness questions, and you have worked out your monthly payment alongside your other spending.

When do the monthly payments start?

It depends on the option you choose in the application: with "From today" (12 payments) the first payment is due when the plan starts; with "In a month" (11 payments) it comes a month later. Dates are set in the plan, and the first payment or a fee may be requested before the lease is documented or at its start.