Habous
| Property law |
|---|
| Part of the common law series |
| Types |
| Acquisition |
| Estates in land |
| Conveyancing |
| Future use control |
| Nonpossessory interest |
| Related topics |
| Other common law areas |
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Habous (also Houbous) (Arabic: الحبوس) is an Islamic term related to land property legislation in the Muslim world.
Habous can be classified into three main categories: private, public, or mixed.
Private
Also called Waqf (Arabic: وقف). In Islamic law a real property covered by the habous is inalienable. It can neither be sold nor exchanged. The founder profits from the usufruct of the lasting real estate his life: its economic right is preserved intact within the family to which it belongs. When the line of the recipients has suddenly died out, the property is affected to charitable organizations or to people that the owner had designated. The property returns thus in the category of the public habous. The goal to immobilize the legal status of a property is to perennialize the capital within the family group, and thus the social hierarchy of the family.
Public
It covers the publicly owned establishments and works of public interest with important revenues. They are often establishments of health or education of religious nature. They are managed by the administration of Habous.
Mixed
It is an intermediary between the public habous and the private habous. At the time of the constitution in habous, the descendants are in charge of the management of the property under the general interest.