Buying Property Jointly in Mauritius: Rules, Risks and Exit

Buying property jointly in Mauritius means several people own the same home, each holding a share, with no room of the house or flat set aside for any one of them. Mauritian law calls this indivision. The Civil Code sets a simple and demanding rule: unless the owners have agreed otherwise, every management or sale decision needs the consent of all co-owners (art. 813-1), and no one can be forced to stay in joint ownership (art. 812).

A foreign buyer also has to reckon with the 1975 law on non-citizens. Each non-citizen co-buyer must either be authorised to buy or buy within a framework that exempts them from authorisation. Otherwise the sale is void (sections 3 and 5 of that Act). An unmarried couple, a mixed-nationality couple and two business partners are therefore not in the same position, and this article sets out the differences.

Legal texts checked on 5 October 2026. General information only, not reviewed by a Mauritian notary or lawyer: it does not replace advice on your own situation.

Key points

• Land and buildings in Mauritius are governed by Mauritian law, even when foreigners own them (Civil Code, art. 3).
• Without an agreement, any act of management or disposal needs everyone’s consent. One co-owner can be given a mandate, and a special mandate is needed to sign or renew a lease (art. 813-1).
• Partition can be requested at any time. The owners can only agree to postpone it for up to five years, renewable (art. 812 and 814-2).
• A co-owner who wants to sell their share to an outsider must first offer it to the others, who have one month to pre-empt (art. 813-12).
• A co-owner’s personal creditors cannot seize their share, but they can force a partition (art. 813-15).
• For a foreign co-buyer, a purchase made without authorisation or a legal framework is void, and the Curator can have the property sold (1975 Act, s. 5).

What the law says when nothing is in writing

Where the co-owners have no agreement, their joint ownership is governed by articles 813 to 813-16 of the Civil Code (art. 812-1). In practice:

• Each co-owner can act alone to preserve the property, for example with an urgent repair, and can make the others share the necessary costs (art. 813).
• Decisions that go beyond preservation, such as selling, mortgaging or carrying out major works, need everyone’s agreement (art. 813-1).
• Letting the property takes a special mandate. The tacit mandate of a co-owner who manages the property with the others’ knowledge covers neither signing nor renewing a lease (art. 813-1).
• If one co-owner blocks a decision and puts the common interest at risk, another can ask the Judge in Chambers for permission to sign alone (art. 813-3).
• Each co-owner can use the property in line with its purpose, but one who uses it alone owes the others compensation unless they have agreed otherwise (art. 813-7).
• Rents and other income belong to the joint ownership. Each co-owner receives the profits and bears the losses in proportion to their rights (art. 813-8 and 813-9).
• A co-owner who improves the property at their own expense, or pays necessary costs out of their own pocket, is credited for it, on an equitable basis, when the property is partitioned or sold (art. 813-11).

These rules assume that the co-owners get on. As soon as they disagree over a sale, a lease or the split of costs, the rules leave little room to manoeuvre, which is why it pays to write your own agreement.

The joint ownership agreement: write it before you buy

Co-owners can agree their own rules in writing and agree to remain in joint ownership (the convention d’indivision). The Civil Code requires a written document that identifies the jointly owned property and states each co-owner’s share. Without it the agreement is void, and for land or buildings the land registration formalities apply (art. 814-1). In practice it is drafted with the notary who prepares the purchase: see the notary’s role in a property purchase in Mauritius.

The agreement can run for up to five years, renewable by express decision, or for an indefinite period. In the first case, partition can only be requested before the term on just grounds. In the second, it can be requested at any time, as long as the request is not made in bad faith or at an inopportune moment (art. 814-2).

The co-owners can also appoint one or more managers, from among themselves or not, and set the rules for removing them. Failing agreement, a manager who is a co-owner can only be removed by a unanimous decision of the others. The Judge in Chambers can remove a manager whose misconduct puts the interests of the joint ownership at risk (art. 814-4). The manager reports once a year, with the profits made and the losses incurred or foreseeable (art. 814-10).

In practice, a useful agreement settles at least:

1. each person’s share, matched to what each one has actually paid;
2. who pays what after the purchase: taxes, service charges, works, insurance;
3. who decides to let the property, on what terms, and who collects the rent;
4. how long the joint ownership lasts, and how a share is valued when one co-owner buys out another, for example by an expert valuation, the method the Code provides for valuing land and buildings on partition (art. 824);
5. what happens when one of the co-owners dies (see below).

Foreign buyers: the 1975 Act applies to each co-buyer

The Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 1975 sets the principle: a non-citizen who wants to buy or hold property in Mauritius applies to the Minister for a certificate (s. 3). The Act defines “property” as the land or building, but also as any right or interest in it (s. 2). It is therefore prudent to assume that an undivided share falls within its scope.

The Act provides exemptions: acquisition by inheritance, by effect of marriage, under another enactment or an international agreement, or in certain approved property schemes (s. 3(3)). For a foreigner, the usual route is one of the EDB schemes, compared in PDS, IRS and RES: the differences for a foreign buyer.

The EDB guidelines for buyers of property under the IRS, RES or PDS (January 2025) accept as buyers a non-citizen, a citizen, a company registered in Mauritius or abroad, a “société” whose deed is filed with the Registrar of Companies, and a trust run by a licensed trustee. When several people apply together, the guidelines ask for a copy of each one’s passport. They tie the residence permit to buying a property worth more than 375,000 USD, but they do not say how that threshold is assessed when the property is held by several people: put the question to the EDB in writing before you sign the reservation contract. For the next steps, see the residence permit through a property purchase.

The penalty is heavy. A contract made in breach of section 3 of the Act is void. Property acquired in breach is taken over by the Curator, who has it sold under the procedure for the sale of immovable property, and the proceeds, after costs, are paid to the person entitled to them (s. 5). The published consolidated text stops at 15 December 2011 and has been amended since. According to a 2021 note from a Mauritian service provider, the transfer and mortgage of property held by a non-citizen now need approval. Have your notary confirm the version in force.

Couples: married, in a civil partnership, cohabiting, mixed nationality

Married under the legal community regime

Without a marriage contract, the default Mauritian regime is community of property, unless the spouses declared that they were marrying under separation of property (art. 1400 and 1475). The foreign spouse of a Mauritian citizen, married under this regime, does not need the certificate of the 1975 Act to hold property (s. 3(3)(b)(ii)(A)).

Married under separation of property

Each spouse keeps the management and free disposal of their own assets (art. 1476) and can prove by any means that an asset is theirs alone (art. 1478). The exemption in the 1975 Act, however, only mentions a spouse married in community of property. A foreign spouse married under separation of property should therefore have the notary confirm how their share is covered, by an authorisation or by an approved scheme.

Foreign spouses married abroad

The Civil Code states that land and buildings, even those owned by foreigners, are governed by Mauritian law (art. 3). In its provisions on matrimonial regimes, though, it deals with a Mauritian married abroad and not with foreign spouses married abroad. Which regime applies to them is a question of private international law. The notary must settle it in writing before signing, on the basis of the marriage contract or the documents you provide.

For a Mauritian married abroad, the Code offers an option: they can choose any of the matrimonial regimes within six months of setting up the marital home in Mauritius, before a notary and with both spouses’ consent (art. 1399). After five years under one regime, the spouses can also change it by a notarial deed approved by the Judge in Chambers (art. 1398).

Unmarried couples: cohabitants and civil partners

The Mauritian Civil Code provides neither for a civil partnership, such as the French PACS, nor for a property regime for cohabiting couples. Two unmarried partners therefore buy under the ordinary joint ownership rules described above. If one of them is a foreigner, the exemption for a spouse married in community of property does not apply to them: their share must rest on an authorisation or an approved scheme. If the other is Mauritian, the 1975 Act does not concern that partner. Only the foreign partner’s share needs to be covered.

For a couple filing a permit application, the EDB guidelines accept a marriage certificate, a certificate of cohabitation or an affidavit, as the case may be. The conditions for a partner’s permit are set out in our article on the dependent permit.

Protecting the survivor: what exists in Mauritius

The Civil Code calls children and descendants, the spouse, ascendants and collateral relatives to the succession (art. 731). An unmarried partner is not on that list. They keep their own share, but the deceased’s share can only pass to them by will or gift, within the freely disposable portion, or through a clause in the joint ownership agreement (see below). That limit depends on the number of children the deceased leaves (art. 913):

These proportions apply to the whole of the deceased’s estate, not only to their share in the jointly owned property. Where there are no children, other rules apply, in particular for ascendants (art. 915). Grandchildren count for the child they represent (art. 914).

The surviving spouse is an heir (art. 731 and 767). Subject to conditions, the spouse can also have a usufruct over the household’s main home when what the law grants them is not enough to give them the whole of it (art. 768). But the spouse’s share can be reduced or removed by will (art. 770).

The tontine clause, widely used in France, is not provided for by the Mauritian Civil Code: do not rely on it without the written opinion of a Mauritian notary. Instead, the Code sets up a mechanism inside the joint ownership agreement. The co-owners can agree that, when one of them dies, each survivor may buy the deceased’s share, or that the surviving spouse, or another named heir, may have it allotted to them. Its value at the time of the purchase or allotment is then accounted for in the estate (art. 814-12). So this is not a free transfer: you need to plan how the share will be paid for. The option lapses if it is not exercised, by notice, within one month of a formal demand to decide (art. 814-13).

On passing on property held by a foreigner in Mauritius, see inheritance in Mauritius compared with Europe.

Selling your share or ending the joint ownership

Selling your share to an outsider

A co-owner who wants to sell all or part of their rights to someone outside the joint ownership must serve notice on the others, by extrajudicial act, of the price, the terms of the sale and the buyer’s name, address and occupation. Each co-owner has one month to exercise a right of pre-emption on the same terms. The one who pre-empts then has two months to complete the sale (art. 813-12). A transfer made without following this procedure is void, and the action to have it set aside is time-barred after five years (art. 813-14).

Selling the whole property

Selling the whole property needs everyone’s agreement (art. 813-1). If one co-owner refuses and so puts the common interest at risk, another can ask the Judge in Chambers for permission to sign alone (art. 813-3).

Asking for partition

Partition can be requested at any time, whatever clauses say otherwise. The owners can only agree to postpone it for up to five years, renewable (art. 812). The Civil Code’s rules on partition, found in the chapter on successions, provide for land and buildings to be valued by experts (art. 824). Where they cannot conveniently be divided, they are sold by auction (licitation) before the court, or before a notary if all parties are adults and agree (art. 827). These rules serve as the reference for ending joint ownership of a property. Have your notary confirm the procedure that applies to your case.

A co-owner’s debts

A co-owner’s personal creditors cannot seize their share of the jointly owned property, but they can force a partition in their debtor’s name. The other co-owners can stop it by paying the debt in the debtor’s place. Creditors of the joint ownership itself, whose claim arises from preserving or managing the property, can on the contrary seize the property and have it sold (art. 813-15).

If one of the co-owners is a foreigner

Whoever buys their share must also meet the conditions of the 1975 Act. For property bought in an IRS, RES or PDS scheme, the EDB guidelines also ask an owner who wants to sell or transfer the property to give written notice to the EDB’s Chief Executive Officer 30 days before the sale, and limit the possible buyers to the categories they list. Build that period into your exit timetable.

Joint ownership or a société: the comparison

Many buyers hesitate between buying jointly and going through a société civile, a civil-law partnership. The choice mostly depends on how you want to take decisions and how you want to get out. For buying through a company in detail, see buying property in Mauritius through a company.

Before you sign as joint buyers

1. Have the shares and the agreement written before the deed is signed, not after.
2. For each foreign co-buyer, check the legal basis of the purchase: approved scheme, authorisation or exemption.
3. Plan the exit: length of the joint ownership, pre-emption, valuation method, notice periods.
4. Plan for a death: the article 814-12 clause and a will, allowing for the portion reserved for the children.
5. Appoint a manager and settle who decides to let the property.
6. Work out the purchase costs, see registration duty and notary fees in Mauritius, and the financing, see borrowing in Mauritius as a foreign buyer.

Westimmo helps you find the property, among the new developments in Mauritius or on the resale market, and points you to a Mauritian notary to draft the deed and the agreement. The full path of a purchase is described in buying property in Mauritius as a foreigner: the steps.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a notary for the joint ownership agreement?

The Civil Code requires a written document that identifies the property and states the shares and, for land or buildings, the land registration formalities (art. 814-1). In practice those formalities go through a notary: bring one in before the purchase rather than signing a template found online.

Can a creditor of my co-buyer seize the property?

The creditor cannot seize the debtor’s share, but can ask for partition in the debtor’s name. Only creditors of the joint ownership itself, whose claim relates to preserving or managing the property, can have it seized and sold (art. 813-15).

Can two people buy off-plan together, before handover?

The EDB guidelines provide that an off-plan purchase falls under the Civil Code’s vente à terme or vente en l’état futur d’achèvement (VEFA). Have every co-buyer, with their share, named in the reservation contract. If you are thinking of moving to a société later, ask the developer in writing to agree to transfer the purchase to it. That is a clause to negotiate with the developer.

Official sources used

• Mauritian Civil Code (text in French, published by the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry), articles 3, 731, 767 to 770, 812 to 814-13, 822 to 827, 913 to 915, 1393 to 1400, 1475 to 1478, 1846, 1861 and 1862.
• Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 1975, consolidated version as at 15 December 2011, published for information: only the Government Gazette version is authoritative.
• Economic Development Board, Guidelines for Buyers of Residential Property under the IRS / RES / PDS (January 2025).
• Secondary source: Intercontinental Trust Ltd, May 2021 note on the 2021 amendments to the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act, to be cross-checked against the law in force.