7 Rule Changes Foreign Property Buyers Face in 2026: Saudi Opens, Australia Extends, Canada's Ban Runs Out

The Law on Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis took effect on 22 January 2026 and replaced a regime that let foreigners own only for a stated purpose. The Council of Ministers approved the zones on 23 June. Regulations followed on 3 July. Non-Saudi individuals, foreign companies and licensed funds can now own inside designated geographic zones: 10 in Riyadh, 56 in Jeddah, 11 in Makkah, 9 in Madinah, and AlUla. A non-Saudi already resident in the Kingdom may own one home for personal use outside the zones, but not in Makkah or Madinah.

The cost sits at the exit. Any sale by a non-Saudi in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah or Madinah carries a 2% fee on top of the 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax. The law allows the fee to go as high as 5%, and early commentary quoted that ceiling, but the regulations set it at 2%. Each zone defines whether the right is freehold or usufruct, the ownership percentage and the duration, so the zone matters more than the city. Riyadh rents are frozen until 25 September 2030 under a royal decree of September 2025, which caps how fast income can grow there.

Australia banned foreign persons, including temporary residents, from buying established dwellings from 1 April 2025. The ban was meant to end on 31 March 2027 until the 2026-27 Budget pushed it to 30 June 2029. Permanent residents and New Zealand citizens are exempt. Exceptions exist for redevelopments that add at least 20 homes and for build-to-rent, student and retirement housing at commercial scale.

New homes remain open with FIRB approval, and the fees were indexed from 1 July 2026. A new home or vacant residential land up to AUD 1 million costs AUD 15,600 to apply for. Up to AUD 2 million it is AUD 31,300. Where an exception lets a foreign buyer take an established home, the fee up to AUD 1 million is AUD 46,800. State foreign-purchaser duties stack on top, such as Queensland's 8%. Buying off the plan from a developer that holds a new dwelling exemption certificate removes the individual application.

Japan has no ban on foreign buyers and has not proposed one since June. What it has added is a paper trail. Since 1 April 2026 a non-resident who buys any Japanese property, including a home to live in, must file Form 22 under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act within 20 days. Before April, residential purchases were exempt. Since 5 October every new registered owner, Japanese citizens included, declares their nationality to the Legal Affairs Bureau. The nationality is held internally and does not appear on the public register.

One more rule is coming. On 13 October the government presented the ruling LDP with an amendment to the Important Land Survey Act that would require prior state permission for land deals within about 1 km of Self-Defense Force and Coast Guard sites and on uninhabited border islands. It applies to buyers of any nationality. Deals made without permission would face up to three years in prison or a ¥3 million fine. Cabinet approval was expected within days, with passage targeted in the current Diet session, but as of 17 October it is a bill, not a law.

The Renters' Rights Act took effect in England on 1 May 2026 for new and existing tenancies. Section 21 no-fault evictions are gone and every tenancy is now periodic. Rent can rise once a year with two months' notice. A landlord who wants to sell or move in cannot do so in the first 12 months of a tenancy, must give four months' notice, and cannot re-let for 12 months afterwards. Civil penalties run to £7,000, or £40,000 for repeat breaches.

The new landlord register opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and rolls out by region, with London opening on 15 July 2027. Every landlord must register by 14 November 2027, at £65 per property per year. Landlords must register themselves, and agents cannot do it for them, which lands directly on owners living abroad. The purchase side is unchanged this year: a non-resident buying an additional home in England pays 7 percentage points over standard Stamp Duty Land Tax, a 5% surcharge plus 2% for non-residents.

Since 6 March 2026, holders of Active Investor Plus, Investor 1 and Investor 2 resident visas can buy or build one home in New Zealand worth NZ$5 million or more without meeting the ordinarily-resident test. Consent from the Overseas Investment Office costs NZ$2,040 for an existing home and NZ$3,500 for a new build, with a statutory decision window of 15 working days. The Active Investor Plus visa needs its own NZ$5 million investment, so the realistic entry ticket is about NZ$10 million. For everyone else, the 2018 ban stands.

Italy's lump-sum tax on the foreign income of new residents rose from €200,000 to €300,000 a year for anyone moving from 1 January 2026, and the add-on per family member doubled to €50,000. Those who moved earlier keep their old rate. The regime lasts up to 15 years and requires non-residence in nine of the previous ten. A family of four moving in 2026 pays €450,000 a year before buying anything in Milan or on Lake Como. The 2027 draft budget plan approved on 13 October deferred all tax measures, so the €300,000 figure holds for now.

Canada's Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act came into force on 1 January 2023 and was extended in February 2024 to 1 January 2027. Breaking it carries a fine of up to CAD 10,000 and a court can order the home sold. Housing Minister Gregor Robertson confirmed a review in December 2025. Reporting through August 2026 described a model limited to new builds and vacant land, similar to Australia's, under discussion. Nothing has been tabled.

A lapse would not open Toronto or Vancouver on equal terms. Ontario and British Columbia levy their own foreign-buyer taxes under provincial law, and those do not expire with the federal ban. Do not sign anything that depends on 1 January 2027.

Spain's proposed 100% tax on non-EU buyers of homes was left out of the second housing bill and had not been debated as of March 2026. Singapore's 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty for foreigners dates from April 2023 and did not change this year. Greece's golden visa thresholds date from 2024.