Pre-emption (shufa)
حقِ شفع
Property and rent
Pre-emption (shufa) is, under the Punjab Pre-emption Act 1991, the right to acquire by purchase an immovable property in preference to other persons when it is sold.
What does Pre-emption (shufa) mean in plain words?
In Punjab, the right arises on a sale of immovable property (which the Act defines as property outside urban areas and cantonments) and vests first in a co-owner (Shafi Sharik), then a participator in special rights such as passage or irrigation (Shafi Khalit), then an adjacent owner (Shafi Jar). It is exercisable only for need (zaroorat) or to avoid harm (zarar). It is lost unless the pre-emptor makes, in order, talb-i-muwathibat (an immediate demand when he learns of the sale), talb-i-ishhad (a written notice attested by two witnesses, within two weeks) and talb-i-khusumat (a suit). The suit must be filed within four months, and the plaintiff must deposit one-third of the sale price within the time the Court fixes (not beyond thirty days of filing). Other provinces have their own laws.
When will I hear Pre-emption (shufa)?
A neighbouring owner made the demand of talb-i-muwathibat as soon as he heard of the sale and later filed a pre-emption suit.
Which law covers Pre-emption (shufa)?
Sections 2, 5, 6, 13, 24 and 30, Punjab Pre-emption Act 1991