المملكة: “Transport” adopts a regulation for private car rentals and allows individuals to mediate via applications

Issued General Authority of Transport Executive regulations governing the activity of Private car rental and brokerage through electronic applications, with the aim of governing the sector, raising operating efficiency, and preserving the rights of all parties to the contractual relationship.

The new regulations obligate establishments wishing to practice private car rental activity to provide a minimum for their fleet of no less than 100 cars owned or rented financially, to ensure operational solvency and sustainability of the service provided to beneficiaries.

Arranging car rental services

Modern regulations allow Licensed establishments may practice the “brokerage” activity, which opens the way for arranging private car rental services owned exclusively by Saudi individuals through approved electronic applications.

The Authority stipulated that individuals wishing to rent their private cars through application brokers should only register one car for each individual, provided that it is owned directly by him or through financial leasing.

The regulations set the operational life of cars practicing the activity at a maximum of five years from the year of manufacture, to ensure the quality of the vehicles. And its modernity in accordance with approved safety and quality standards.

The Authority granted a special exception for cars that operate on clean energy and luxury cars in the brokerage activity, as their operational life may be extended to up to 10 years by decision of the Chairman of the Authority.

The new regulation prohibits practicing the activity without linking the facility’s technical system to the Authority’s electronic platform “wasl” or any other systems it specifies, to ensure the flow of data in a timely and accurate manner.

Electronic rental contracts Unified

The Authority obligated all service providers to issue unified electronic leasing contracts that include all financial details and obligations, while preventing any practices that take place outside this documented regulatory framework.

The electronic contract must clearly include the type of insurance coverage and the deductibility rate, if any, in addition to the cost of delay, fuel policy, and distance traveled.

With regard to the delay policy, the regulations approved calculating the cost of hours of delay up to a maximum of four hours based on a specific formula, after which the beneficiary bears the cost of a full day in addition to the costs of Leasing.

The regulation stressed the prohibition of practicing the activity through traditional offices or branches, or providing a driver-rental service, restricting transactions to electronic channels and licensed applications only.

The regulation guarantees the right of the beneficiary to obtain a replacement car of the same class or higher without additional cost in the event that a technical defect appears in the vehicle that is not the result of his negligence.

Rescue violations

The service provider is prohibited from Collecting any sums of money not stipulated in the contract, or charging the beneficiary with the costs of consumable spare parts whose misuse has not been proven.

The beneficiary bears full responsibility for returning the car in the same technical and clean condition in which he received it, with a commitment not to use it for illegal or unlicensed commercial purposes.

The authority explained that the contract ends automatically as soon as an official notification of a traffic accident or theft of the vehicle occurs, to ensure that the beneficiary does not bear the consequences of the period of forced stopping of the car.

/>The private car operating card is canceled immediately if 90 days have passed since its expiration without renewal, or when the license of the facility operating the activity is cancelled.

Aggrieved persons have the right to appeal the violations issued against them within 30 days from the date of notification, provided that specialized committees consider these grievances in accordance with specific work rules.

• For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter