Sources reviewed
Effect on owner and buyer
An unauthorised sale of identified property by a non-owner does not bind its owner unless ratified, subject to third-party rights. The buyer may seek annulment unless the seller later obtains title or the owner ratifies. An unaware buyer who obtains annulment may claim compensation even against a good-faith seller. Required transfer formalities still apply. [1]
Check authority on the signing date
Match the owner to the parcel record and obtain the instrument in force at signing. Check the scope of authority to sell. If the buyer alleges later approval, examine the complete message, its sender and whether it approved this particular sale or merely negotiations. Compare the principal with the registered owner and verify the agent’s authority. Even after owner ratification, the disposition transferring the right after first registration requires registration. First confirm designation of the area and completion of first registration for this parcel. [3]
Define the practical outcome
If the owner wishes to ratify, propose a documented transfer. Otherwise the buyer should trace each payment to its recipient and document reliance losses. The owner should identify the exact transaction alleged to bind the property and the evidence contradicting authority.
Temporal scope · 2026-10-30
The Law took effect 180 days after official publication. It generally reaches earlier events, except where a party invokes a conflicting pre-existing statutory rule or judicial principle applicable to the event, or a claim-barring period had already started. Separate registration and jurisdiction requirements still apply. [2]
Sources
- نظام المعاملات المدنية | Civil Transactions Law 359–360, 657
- مرسوم الإصدار ونفاذ النظام · Enacting decree and commencement Royal Decree M/191, clauses IV–V; Civil Transactions Law, art. 721
- نظام التسجيل العيني للعقار | Law of Real Estate Registration 7, 13
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