Debtor property sales face new court rules

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Seizing and selling debtors’ property in Bahrain will follow revised auction rules under a new order issued by Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf Minister Nawaf Al Maawda.

Resolution No 49 of 2026 changes parts of a 2022 order on the seizure of real estate owned by people subject to civil and trade enforcement cases, its sale, and the sharing of the proceeds.

The order replaces Article 8 and the fourth paragraph of Article 12 of Resolution No 23 of 2022. It also scraps Article 13 of the same order and repeals a 2019 order on the sale of mortgaged property by public auction.

All auction steps must now be clear, open and held in public, according to the new wording of Article 8. The sale must be run by a named person.

Anyone wishing to bid must follow the required steps, including signing up and paying the first guarantee sum.

The auction will begin at the base price fixed by the Execution Court judge.

Once bidding closes, the person running the sale must write a record of the auction. It must list the steps taken, the highest offers made by bidders and the court fees.

That record must be put before the Execution Court judge within three days of the close of bidding.

The highest bidder will be treated as the buyer to whom the sale is awarded.

The judge must order a new auction if no bidder comes forward, if an error is found in the notice or bidding steps, or if the buyer cannot register the property in his name for a reason beyond his control.

The amended fourth paragraph of Article 12 gives the buyer two weeks to pay the rest of the price into the court treasury.

The two-week period runs from the end of the time allowed to file a grievance or appeal against the sale award, if neither is filed. If one is filed, it runs from the date a ruling is made.

Once the rest of the price is paid on time, the buyer will receive a copy of the ruling allowing the sale and the order awarding it.

Those papers must then be given to the Survey and Land Registration Bureau so ownership can be moved into the buyer’s name.

The order will be carried out by the ministry’s undersecretary for courts, family reconciliation and alimony.