Court orders sale of siblings’ KL bungalow after 15-year family feud

The High Court has ordered the sale of a bungalow beneficially owned by three children of an ophthalmologist after finding that their relationship had broken down irretrievably following more than 15 years of litigation.

Justice Arziah Apandi said the court-ordered sale was necessary to break the deadlock over the property in Lorong Raja Uda 1, off Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz here.

The bungalow was registered solely in the name of the eldest brother, Aziz Al-Akbar Noor, because his two sisters were minors when their late father bought it in 1978.

However, the court found that Aziz owned one-third beneficially while holding the remaining two-thirds in trust for his sisters in equal shares.

The middle sister, Jelinar Noor, had been living in the bungalow exclusively since 2001 without paying rent to her siblings.

Arziah said the evidence showed there was no realistic prospect of the siblings cooperating over the property.

“The relationship has broken down irretrievably,” she said in the grounds of judgment.

The judge said Aziz, the plaintiff, was effectively excluded from the benefit of his one-third interest, as he moved out in 1990 and had not returned to the property since 2007.

“Without a court-ordered sale, the plaintiff will remain a one-third owner and trustee indefinitely, with no practical means of realising his interest,” she said.

Arziah also rejected Jelinar’s argument that Aziz was a bare trustee who had no power to sell the property.

She said the fact that he lacked an independent power of sale did not prevent the court from exercising its statutory powers under the Trustees Act 1949, Courts of Judicature Act 1964 and Rules of Court 2012.

“The limited powers of a bare trustee are the very premise upon which Section 59 of the Trustees Act 1949 operates,” she said.

Arziah noted that Aziz and the younger sister, Shamsinar, had offered to sell their shares to Jelinar, but she had not responded.

She said a court-ordered sale would not deprive Jelinar of her entitlement because she would receive one-third of the net sale proceeds.

The judge also said the younger sister needed her share for medical expenses and to purchase another property.

She said given the siblings’ advanced ages, leaving the dispute unresolved could create further complications if any of them died, including issues arising from faraid.

Arziah ordered the property to be sold within 12 months, subject to a minimum price of 90% of its new market valuation.

Jelinar was also ordered to vacate the property within 60 days.

The net proceeds, after sale expenses, are to be divided equally among the three siblings.

Arziah said any rental claim falling within the applicable limitation period could be pursued at an assessment or inquiry.

Ivanpal Grewal acted for Aziz while L Prakash represented Jelinar and Ahmad Shahrizal Abdul Aziz acted for Shamsinar.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.