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Is the seller entitled to keep the down payment after the buyer refused to complete a land purchase deal due to undisclosed problems by the broker, such as an illegal door, a container, and writings on the walls saying "the land has been preempted"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Disputes must be brought before the Sharia courts, as they are the competent authority to resolve conflicts and give everyone their due. If an agreement is reached between a buyer and a seller to purchase a plot of land, and the buyer pays a deposit (ʿurbūn), then voluntarily withdraws from the purchase, the deposit belongs to the seller. However, if the buyer stipulated that the seller clear the land of a container within a specified period, and the seller failed to comply, then the buyer has the right to withdraw from the sale, and the seller is obligated to return the deposit. The final say, however, rests with the Sharia courts.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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