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Fatwa CenterHis friend wants to withdraw his name from a shared mortgage
Question
Assalamo Alaykom, I bought a house with a friend through the bank back in 2005. We lived in the house together and split the mortgage though I had to pay $1450 while my friend paid $1050 because I had a family so we had 2 rooms and he took 1. My friend came to me and said that he wanted to get married and that we needed to do something about the shared house. So we have tried to sell it but we were not able to because the market went down drastically. We could not find a buyer and the house is worth a lot less than what we owe to the bank now. My friend insisted on selling because he was not willing to continue sharing the house or splitting in 2 studios until the market comes back up and we can sell it and get out of this ordeal. He suggested we make make some improvement to the house so we took a loan on the house and we spent $8000 to make it a better house but still no buyers. Recently, my friend went back home for 3 months without paying his share but for half a month, and he asked me to cover his travel ticket with money from the loan we got to fix the house and that he would pay that back. Now he's back and when I asked him when would he be able to pay the monies he owes me he said he doesn't wanna be part of it anymore and that he's moving out as soon as he found a place. His excuse was that with the new baby my wife just had that we're a big family now and that he wants me to give all the money he paid during his 2 years residence in the house otherwise he's not taking his name off the deed of the house. When I asked about the agreement we had to BOTH be responsible for the house til it's sold he didn't reply but instead says that he wants to get paid to get his name out. Eventhough he's breaking the agreement and he's not paying the money he owes me which he initially said he will pay back but now changed his mind. What Does our deen say in this situation? Can I sue him before a US court to get his name off and my the money he owes me back? Please help.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Indeed it is the court that should rule in such matters, and a Fatwa based on listening to one party only is not enough to solve the problem and give you a solution.
However, since there are no Islamic courts in the country where you live, we advise you to resort to trustworthy Islamic centres and present your case to the knowledgeable people there so that they may reconcile between you and your co-partner. If they give right to you and you cannot take this right except by resorting to American courts, then it is permissible for you to do so since it is a necessity, provided you only take what you are entitled to.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 86134.
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