Mortgage of a Shared Property

The civil code has expressed the conditions of a property which can be the subject of mortgage but the possibility of the mortgage of a shared property has not been mentioned. Regarding the silence of the civil code about the issue, it can be inferred that a shared property can be the subject of mortgage. However, this issue is the subject of conflict among experts. Hanafi jurisprudents believe that mortgage of a shared property is impossible without the consent of other share holders but jurisprudents from other jurisprudential schools have different ideas about the necessity of asking for permission of other share holders in pre-empt situation. Among these different ideas, the idea of Shi‘a jurisprudents is that it is necessary to ask the other share holders for permission in pre-empt situation. This idea is generally accepted in the present legal system as well. The reason is that although in reality, the shares of each share holder cannot be separated, but theoretically they are separable and independent. Therefore, mortgage on a joint property is possible but in pre-empt situation it is not possible without the consent of other owners, since it interferes with their rights. So, parties’ agreement on mortgage of a joint property is correct while in pre-empt situation it needs other owners consent or otherwise it would be subject to liability and the accuracy of such contract is under question too. Moreover, and on the contrary with what it has been said in Fiqh, it seems that it would not be right to make other owners give their consent. Therefore, the only solution is to divide the property. Also, if there is no agreement about the person who is going to deliver the property, the court would be the right person for it.