Real Estate Owner Forced to Return BD 25,740 After Selling Apartment Twice

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

The owner of a real estate company has been ordered to repay BD 25,740 after reselling an apartment to a new buyer, despite an existing agreement and years of payments from the original purchaser.

The High Civil Court ruled that the defendant resold the apartment nearly four years after signing a preliminary sale agreement with the plaintiff. Two years later, he also mortgaged the property to a bank without informing her.

According to Lawyer Mohammed Al Ahmed, who represented the plaintiff, the client had agreed to purchase the apartment for BD 45,000, paying an upfront amount of BD 13,000. The remainder was to be settled in 64 monthly installments of BD 500.

In addition to the sale contract, the defendant’s real estate company had arranged to lease the apartment, with rent payments contributing to the installments owed. This reduced the plaintiff’s monthly payment to just BD 200. She followed the plan diligently, making timely payments, and later requested the property be transferred into her name. However, this request was denied, prompting her to take legal action.

The court found the defendant had breached his obligations by reselling the property in 2022 and mortgaging it in 2020, without informing the plaintiff that the tenant had moved out. Testimonies from the defense witnesses were dismissed, as the court deemed them unreliable.

The court annulled the sale agreement dated 10 November 2018 and ordered the situation to be restored to its original state. With the plaintiff having paid BD 13,000 upfront, followed by BD 12,200 in installments over five years, plus BD 540 in maintenance fees, she had paid a total of BD 25,740. The defendant has now been ordered to repay this amount.