Amman, Aug. 16 (Petra) – A joint Senate committee approved the Real Estate Ownership Law of 2026, as referred by the Lower House of Parliament, establishing a framework for land expropriation for major national and infrastructure projects while strengthening safeguards for property owners and introducing reforms aimed at improving the real estate investment environment.

The legislation is particularly relevant to the government’s planned implementation of major infrastructure projects, including the railway project in the Southern Ghor, where land may be expropriated to facilitate the project. The draft sets out procedures for expropriation, compensation and judicial oversight while seeking to balance public interest and development needs with citizens’ property rights.

The joint committee, comprising the Legal and Finance committees and chaired by Senator Rajai Muasher, conducted a comprehensive review of the draft’s provisions and discussed its articles to ensure an appropriate balance between public interest requirements, citizens’ rights and the needs of development and investment projects.

Muasher noted that Article 11 delegates the authority to expropriate land to the Cabinet while guaranteeing citizens the right to object and providing for judicial oversight to safeguard property rights and ensure enforcement of the law.

He described the railway project as a national and strategic undertaking expected to stimulate economic activity, improve transportation and trade, and contribute to economic growth across various sectors. He stressed that the legislation would not undermine the rights of citizens whose land has been or may be expropriated for the planned railway.

The committee called on the government to take into account the direct impact of major legislation on citizens and, where possible, conduct prior consultations with stakeholders and relevant authorities to clarify provisions and their implications and promote public understanding of the legislation. It also recommended giving priority, to the greatest extent possible, to state-owned land when implementing infrastructure and major national projects and avoiding the expropriation of privately owned land except when necessary.

The committee further called for consideration of the distinctive characteristics of tourist and environmentally sensitive areas when determining project routes, particularly for the railway, in a manner that protects private property and areas of tourist and environmental significance, including Wadi Rum. It recommended issuing regulations that clearly establish the principles and mechanisms for calculating fair compensation, with standardized valuation criteria to ensure fairness, transparency and protection of property owners’ rights.

The committee also recommended improving mechanisms and procedures for handling joint ownership cases and enhancing the capacity of the administrative body responsible for implementing the law, particularly frontline employees who deal directly with citizens. It proposed specialized training and qualification programs to ensure employees understand the law’s provisions and implementation mechanisms and to reduce discrepancies in interpretations, procedures and documentation requirements.

Beyond expropriation, the draft law seeks to improve the investment environment in the real estate sector by enabling the Department of Lands and Survey to collect and analyze data and issue periodic reports reflecting market conditions and performance indicators. It also provides for the digital transformation of the department’s procedures through electronic transactions and signatures, online application submissions, electronic issuance of documents and notifications, and electronic payment methods.

The legislation would allow the sale and subdivision of buildings off-plan before construction, regulate non-Jordanian ownership of real estate outside designated development zones for residential purposes under specific conditions, and improve the efficiency of joint ownership committees.

The law also addresses financial leasing as a form of temporary ownership, aims to expedite required approval procedures and enhances legal certainty for expropriated properties by shortening periods for relinquishing ownership, establishing rules for calculating fair compensation and strengthening judicial oversight of the expropriation process.

//Petra// AJ