Co-owned family home: a new right to stay, or to buy out the co-owner who wants to sell
Decree-law 121 of 2026 amends Article 830 of Kuwait's Civil Code and applies to partition cases still in court, unless an auction has already been awarded
When a house is owned jointly, as an inherited family home often is, any one owner can ask a court to divide it. A decree-law published in the official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm, on 18 October 2026 gives the other owners two new options. Decree-law 121 of 2026 adds two clauses to Article 830 of the Civil Code. It applies only to residential property held in common, not to other jointly owned assets.
Option one: stay, for a period the court sets
At the request of one of the owners, the court can order the property to stay in joint ownership for a period it decides. The owner asking must prove two things: that the house is their only home, and that their means are not enough to buy a suitable home elsewhere. Any other owner can later ask for this to end by showing that either condition no longer holds.
Option two: buy the share of the owner who wants out
While a partition case is being heard, any co-owner can ask to buy the share of the owner who filed it, at a value set by a court-appointed expert. If several owners want to buy, they agree how to split the share between them; if they cannot agree, it is split equally. Each then pays their portion into the court treasury by a deadline the court sets.
Anyone who fails to pay without an excuse the court accepts drops out, and the share is redistributed among the rest with a new deadline. Once the full value is paid, the court transfers the share to those who paid and the partition case ends; otherwise the case continues.
Who it covers
The amendment applies to partition cases that have not reached a final judgment, unless the court has already awarded the property at auction. If you are party to a pending case over a shared home, both options are open to you; your lawyer will know how to file the request in that case.
The explanatory memorandum says the aim is to balance an owner’s right to end joint ownership against the human and social needs of the family.
Photo: a Ministry of Justice card designed by Kuwait One, over a blurred photograph of a judge’s gavel and law books by succo, public domain (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: Decree-law 121 of 2026 amending Article 830 of the Civil Code, Kuwait Al-Youm, 18 October 2026, with its text and explanatory memorandum as published by Al-Jarida on 19 October 2026.
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