Assalāmu Alaykum
Is it permissible to work in Conveyancing / Property Law?
A lot of our clients buy and sell properties using a mortgage which includes interest. Now, we don’t provide the mortgage itself but there are aspects of the conveyancing/property transaction that does include looking at the mortgage which the client has obtained.
Please can you let me know whether this job role is allowed in Islām
Jazakallahu khayr
Based on our understanding, the conveyancer specialises in the legal aspects of buying and selling property. Some of the key tasks include; handling the contract of exchange, dealing with the Land Registry, handling local council searches and other formal enquiries, the collection and transferring of money for the property purchase, arranging for payment of Stamp Duty and other payments, notifying the freeholder of the sale if the home is leasehold, and providing legal guidance. These tasks are all permissible.
If the conveyancer is required to review a mortgage provided by a third party and liaise with the mortgage company during the transfer of ownership, this would be permissible. This is because they are not the one’s providing the mortgage or engaging in an unlawful contract. It is the buyer who is engaging in the unlawful contract. The conveyancer is just facilitating the sale of the property and as the buyer has opted to use a mortgage to pay for the property it becomes necessary for the conveyancer to review this in order to take the transfer to completion.
The conveyancer will not be considered to have assisted in sin, as it is the buyer who is taking out the mortgage and the conveyancer is not helping them in this. Rather, they are reviewing an arrangement which has already been made.
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel