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Explainer: How Muis’ fatwa on joint tenancies affects Muslim homeowners

SINGAPORE — On Monday (May 13), Singapore’s Islamic Religious Council (Muis) issued a new fatwa — or ruling — which recognises a joint-tenancy contract as valid under the religion.

The 2019 fatwa accepts the joint-tenancy contract as valid under Muslim law. This means that when one owner dies, the surviving spouse will automatically have absolute ownership of the property.

The 2019 fatwa accepts the joint-tenancy contract as valid under Muslim law. This means that when one owner dies, the surviving spouse will automatically have absolute ownership of the property.

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SINGAPORE — On Monday (May 13), Singapore’s Islamic Religious Council (Muis) issued a new fatwa — or ruling — which recognises a joint-tenancy contract as valid under the religion.

While it is a common form of ownership arrangement when buying properties in Singapore, few Muslims in Singapore realise that there is a difference in the way civil law and Syariah law define property ownership under a joint-tenancy contract.

This affects the distribution of one’s property assets after one half of a Muslim couple dies.

So what does this latest fatwa mean and how does it govern the distribution of a Muslim person’s property once he or she dies?

WHAT IS A JOINT-TENANCY AGREEMENT?

There are mainly two ways a couple can share ownership of their home: Through a joint-tenancy contract or a tenancy-in-common agreement.

Under a joint-tenancy contract, a couple jointly owns the whole property. When one owner dies, the surviving spouse will automatically have absolute ownership of the property.

Under a tenancy-in-common agreement, each co-owner holds a separate and distinct share in the property. When one of them dies, that person’s share of the property will be passed on to his or her beneficiaries according to the rules of Islamic inheritance law.

JOINT TENANCY UNDER SYARIAH LAW

An earlier fatwa issued in 1997 recognised joint tenancy only as an “equal-shared ownership” contract under Muslim law, a form of partnership in which the two joint tenants have an equal share of the property.

This means that even though Muslim couples may have bought their properties under a joint-tenancy arrangement, when one of the owners dies, his share of the property will be distributed to his beneficiaries according to Islamic inheritance law.

However, some Muslim homeowners who held properties under joint tenancy asked for an alternative option so that they could make appropriate plans.

So in 2008, Muis’ Fatwa Committee decided that each joint tenant should still own an equal share of 50 per cent, but the tenants would have the option of drawing up an additional document — either a nuzriah or hibah ruqba — to declare that they are giving their share of the property to the surviving tenant upon death.

Without this additional document, their share will be divided in accordance with Islamic inheritance law upon their death.

PROBLEMS FROM THE 2008 FATWA

There were, however, challenges that arose from the 2008 fatwa.

For instance, many Muslims who had the intention to give their share of the property to their co-owners did not manage to prepare the documents before they died.

This could result in a conflict when it came to deciding how his share of the property was distributed after his death.

For instance, when the joint tenant did not make it clear what his intention was after his death or did not prepare the documents, some beneficiaries of the deceased — usually his children or parents — demanded that the surviving joint tenant sell the house and divide the proceeds according to Islamic inheritance law.

In other instances, the surviving joint tenant — usually the spouse of the deceased — faced pressure from the beneficiaries to sell the property and move to another house. This is so that the share owned by the dead co-owner can be divided.

Many of these instances caused hardship for the surviving joint tenant.

There was also confusion among the Muslim community on the laws regarding joint tenancy.

Muis said that its call centre received 371 calls in 2017 regarding estate-related matters. Last year, it received 455 calls, of which 70 per cent of them were questions on joint tenancy.

HOW DOES THE 2019 FATWA CHANGE THINGS?

The 2019 fatwa accepts the joint-tenancy contract as valid under Muslim law, thereby aligning it with civil law.

Co-owners of a property have the option of selecting either a joint-tenancy contract or a tenancy-in-common contract.

This removes the need to draw up additional documents such as the nuzriah or the hibah ruqba.

A joint-tenancy contract is typically the better option as it safeguards the interest of one’s immediate family in the event of one’s death and avoids causing serious financial distress and uncertainty.

There are, however, other possible scenarios where a tenancy-in-common contract may be a more appropriate option for some families.

The Fatwa Committee said that homeowners must consider and decide on what is the best option, according to their personal circumstances.

It advises members of the public to seek expert advice before deciding whether to take up a joint tenancy or tenancy-in-common contract.

The 2019 fatwa may apply to cases where a co-owner has died before this fatwa is issued, and the surviving owner has yet to sell the house.

It does not apply retrospectively to properties that have already been sold and the proceeds distributed to beneficiaries based on the 2008 fatwa.

Related topics

Muslim Muis home ownership joint tenancy

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