Husband and Wife's Shared Ownership in Property

Question: A lady has asked: in the flat I am living in, I own a quarter share, and the husband owns the remaining three shares. Now she says she wants to take khula — if she takes khula, will he be entitled to evict her from that flat, or can she be evicted?

Answer: The first point is that even if you owned a twentieth share of this house instead of a quarter, and you are in possession of this house, no one can evict you from it, because you are living in this house as an owner — even if you own just one inch of it, they cannot evict you. If you want to take khula, get a stay order before doing so. Go to court, whichever city you are in, engage a lawyer, provide your proof of ownership, and file a suit on that basis stating that I am a quarter owner in this, and this other co-sharer, who is my husband, wants to evict me — our marital relations are not good, and I want to take khula from him in the near future — so let him be restrained from evicting me.

Keep that stay order with you, and only then take khula. First of all, taking khula is not a good thing — try to keep things working between you. Divorce is not a good thing; matters should keep running smoothly. In any case, if matters have reached a point where you cannot continue, the best solution for you is to first obtain a stay, and then take khula — and if, God forbid, after taking khula he evicts you, you can file an application in court stating that this person evicted me while a stay order was in place, and that possession should be restored to me. The court will restore possession to you — it will not take any time, you will get possession back without any [further] cause.