Elderly woman wins decades-long legal battle to keep home she fully paid for

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

An elderly Bahraini woman has been fighting for 25 years to secure ownership of a home she fully paid for.

A last-minute Court of Cassation ruling overturned previous decisions, preventing her eviction over a debt tied to one of the seller’s heirs.

Her lawyer, Nabeel Al Qassab, said the dispute dates back to 2000, when she bought a government housing unit in Sanad from a Bahraini man for BD80,000.

She made the payment in three instalments, sealing the deal through an initial contract dated 15 July 2000.

The contract was signed by one of the seller’s sons, who acted as his father’s agent.

She received the house deed, but because the property was under a 17-year restriction as a government housing unit, she couldn’t register it in her name at the time.

The real trouble began after the seller passed away.

One of his heirs had racked up a BD40,000 debt, and the property was pulled into an enforcement case to settle it.

Auction

A court order was issued to auction the house to cover what was owed.

In response, she lodged a lawsuit to have the house removed from the enforcement file, arguing that the sale had been completed long before the debt was an issue.

She also sought to have the seizure order overturned and the ownership transferred to her.

During proceedings, the court allowed witness testimony to establish that she had taken possession of the house from the time of purchase and had paid the full price.

Claim

But the Court of First Instance threw out her claim, ruling that the sale violated restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Housing.

She appealed, with her lawyer urging the court to seek clarification from the ministry.

He argued that the restrictions had been put in place for the ministry’s benefit, and since the ministry had no objections to the transfer, the case against her should be dismissed.

The Court of Appeal, however, refused the appeal and upheld the earlier judgment. That left her with no option but to take the matter to the Court of Cassation.

Appeal

In its ruling, the top court found that her appeal rested on a claim that the lower court’s decision was legally flawed, misread case documents, and failed to uphold her right to defend her claim. Earlier judgments had determined that the house was subject to a ten-year restriction on sale from the date the ownership document was issued to the seller’s heirs.

The contract she relied on was ruled as having no legal weight against them.