A probe has been launched into the legality of title deeds for land in the Al-Sawa'ed and Umm Al-Khair districts east of the highway in Jeddah. An informed source said that a committee charged with conducting the investigation had made enquiries to the Public Notary Bureau over the title deeds for the districts, which are the most recently-built planned zones in the area. “Al-Sawa'ed planned district has already been part of an ownership dispute between some residents and the owner of the district,” the source said. The source also confirmed the legality of procedures followed by the Jeddah Public Notary Bureau in transferring deed ownership, but said the Public Notary Bureau was expected to be summoned by investigators to be questioned on the deeds. “The Public Notary Bureau would not transfer the ownership of any disputed land without a letter from the Mayor's Office clearly stating that the site does not encroach on any other land and meets regulatory requirements,” the source said. The source added that the Administrative Court and General Court in Jeddah have both looked into cases of title deed dual ownership where deeds for the same land have been issued to multiple parties. Lawsuits against the Mayors' Office are currently being looked into by the Administrative Court and others are with the General Court, according to the source. The Deputy Chairman of the Real Estate Committee in Jeddah said by telephone from abroad that the Jeddah Mayoralty had “made a grave error in allowing the building of planned districts on flood routes valley and in granting building permits to the public.” “The mayoralty will have to take another look at around 60 planned districts east of the highway and assess the danger posed to their residents,” said Abdullah Al-Ahmari. Al-Ahmari criticized previous decisions by the Mayor's Office to approve construction on the land and also for connecting the areas to the electricity, water and telephone networks.
