Selling inherited property when one co-heir will not agree

You have a buyer for an inherited apartment, but one heir rejects the price or does not want a sale. The others cannot sell that person's rights by a majority decision. That does not mean co-ownership must continue without a possible solution.

Separate two questions: who owns which rights, and what each person is willing to agree.

An inheritance certificate is not the entire title investigation

Establish what the deceased owned and which rights passed to the heirs. Marital property, wills, renunciations, earlier gifts and later transfers may matter. Shares cannot safely be calculated simply by counting living relatives.

Gather title documents, inheritance certificates and available documents recording changes in ownership. Successive inheritances may require investigation across more than one generation.

Three routes to an agreed solution

All owners may sell together. They should settle the price, allocation of payments, deadlines and vacant possession in advance.

Alternatively, one heir may acquire the others' shares. An independent valuation can assist negotiations but does not compel agreement on a particular price.

A voluntary partition may also end co-ownership where agreement is possible. It does not necessarily mean dividing an apartment into rooms. Legal and technical divisibility, and the required form of the agreement, need separate attention.

Can you sell just your share?

An undivided ownership share is not a particular room. When a share is sold to an outside party, Article 33 of the Property Act requires an offer to the other co-owners on the same terms and the relevant evidence before the notary. Sham arrangements are not a reliable way around their rights.

Where an estate remains undivided, Article 76 of the Inheritance Act must also be considered. A transaction involving an inherited asset should not automatically be treated as an uncomplicated sale of a share in a single property.

If agreement remains impossible

In principle, a co-owner can seek partition. The outcome of judicial partition depends on the asset and statutory requirements. Possible methods include public sale of indivisible property. No one can promise in advance that a particular heir will receive the apartment.

If one co-owner personally uses the common property and prevents the others from using it, compensation under Article 31(2) of the Property Act may be a separate issue. A written demand is significant under that provision.