Wife can’t use caveat to block sale of husband’s pre-marital home, court rules

The Melaka High Court has ruled that a non-Muslim wife cannot use a private caveat to prevent her husband from selling a house he purchased before their marriage, even if she is claiming a share of it in divorce proceedings. The court stated that a claim to matrimonial assets does not automatically grant a spouse a registrable interest in the property under the National Land Code.

The judge refused the wife's application to extend the caveat over the house in Taman Paya Rumput Perdana, Alor Gajah, until the conclusion of her divorce proceedings. However, he granted her an additional 21 days to seek an injunction from the divorce court to protect her claim. The court emphasized that the 1976 Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act protects spouses’ rights to a division of matrimonial assets, rather than providing a present ownership interest under land law. The husband, who bought the property in 2011, is its sole registered owner.

Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.