Kuwait Cabinet approves draft change to Civil Code Article 830 so a co-owner's only home need not go straight to public auction
At its meeting on Tuesday 6 October 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a draft decree-law amending Article 830 of the Civil Code, concerning jointly owned residential property, and referred it to His Highness the Amir, KUNA reported. The change would let a court keep joint ownership going for a set period to protect a co-owner who has no other home, and would let the other co-owners buy out the share of the partner who wants to sell at a value fixed by a court expert, instead of selling the whole house at public auction.
What the Cabinet approved
According to KUNA, carried by Kuwait Times, the Council of Ministers met on Tuesday 6 October 2026, chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and approved a draft decree-law amending Article 830 of the Civil Code issued by Law Decree No. 67 of 1980. The draft was referred to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. At the same meeting the Cabinet approved a separate amendment to the notarisation law.
Two protections for jointly owned homes
The Minister of Justice, Counselor Nasser Yousef Al-Sumait, explained the change, as reported by Arab Times on 7 October. First, at the request of a co-owner, the court may order joint ownership to continue for a specified period when the property is that co-owner's sole residence and they do not have the means for other housing; the court weighs the family, social and financial circumstances, and any co-owner may ask to end the continuation once either condition no longer applies. Second, while a partition case is pending, the other co-owners may ask to acquire the share of the partner seeking partition at a value set by a court-appointed expert, and the draft sets procedures for depositing that value with the court treasury within a set time. The minister said the change follows the directives of His Highness the Amir.
What happens next
This is a draft decree-law approved by the Cabinet, not yet a law in force. It still has to be issued as a decree-law before it can take effect. The reports give a start date of six months after publication for the notarisation changes, but no separate date is stated for Article 830 in the sources we opened, so we do not give one. We will update this story when the text is published.
What Al Mithaq adds
Our Kuwait team deals every week with families who own a house or a plot together. If you are an heir thinking of selling your share, or of buying out your partners, ask us for a market price on the property before any court expert is appointed, so you know the number you are talking about. If the family decides to sell and move, our Sea City land page lets you tell us the phase and budget you have in mind in Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City, and our team comes back with the plots available now, with their prices.
Sources
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