Is it permissible in Zimbabwe for my spouse to dispose of ‘our’ property without my consent?

The position of the law in Zimbabwe is that neither a husband nor a wife can stop the other from disposing of the matrimonial home or any other immovable property, which is registered in their sole name, but forming the joint matrimonial estate. Put differently, a spouse whose name does not appear on the title deed does not have a legal interest in such a property before divorce. see Muswere v Makanza & Others 2004 (2) ZLR 262 (H).

However, in limited circumstances, the disposal of matrimonial property may be stopped. There, should be evidence that in disposing of the property, the disposing spouse is disposing the property under value, the property is being sold to a scoundrel, or the sale is intended to defeat the other spouses just rights. A spouse which seeks the courts assistance interdicting the disposal of matrimonial property must establish the lack of good faith on the one spouse’s part in the disposal and further establish that the sale is a sham or simply intended to defeat his or her just cause. Thus in Zimbabwe, a spouse has a right to sell a house forming part of the matrimonial estate, but registered in his or her sole name without the other spouse’s consent.