Selling the heir's share in the jointly owned property

The Civil Transactions Law came to resolve this type of dispute with an explicit text that balances the interest of the party requesting the division and the rest of the partners, as stated in Article 628 of the Civil Transactions Law.

First: The content of the regulatory rule

The second paragraph of Article (628) stipulates that a request by one of the partners to sell the property is not binding on the rest of the partners if it is possible to enable the requesting partner to obtain a fair value for his share without resorting to selling the entire property.

The important thing is not just the partner's desire to sell, but rather the extent to which harm has been caused or not.

Secondly: Preventing forced sale to protect the remaining partners

The system confirmed that it does not obligate partners to sell at auction when the party requesting the division can sell his share for a value no less than if the entire property were sold.

This text prevents the auction sale from being used as a means of exerting pressure on other partners, and makes the sale an exceptional procedure that is only resorted to when other solutions are impossible.

Third: The partners' right to avoid the sale

The system granted the remaining partners an important right to avoid the sale, by compensating the party requesting the division for any decrease in the value of their share if it were sold separately.

And thus the system ensures:

• Not to harm the party requesting the division,
• Not jeopardizing the interests of the other partners by preserving ownership of the property.

Fourth: The practical effect of the regulatory text

The application of this paragraph entails that:

• A request to sell the property is not automatically accepted, and the court is obligated to verify the possibility of compensating the party requesting the division.
• The property shall not be sold or referred for liquidation unless compensation is impossible if the value of the property individually is less than selling it in its entirety.

conclusion

The second paragraph of Article (628) of the Civil Transactions Law is one of the most important texts regulating the division of jointly owned real estate, because it achieves justice and balance between the partners, and because it contains controls that prevent abuse of the right to request division or resorting to forced sale without justification.