01 / 10 · Law & paper · Title
Who owns the house on day one.
English land law does not care that your PDF says musharakah. It cares about the register, the declaration of trust, and who can sell.
The Mizan desk · 7 September 2026 · 8 min
Two clean models. One: you and the bank are both on the title, shares declared. Two: the bank (or a nominee) holds legal title and you hold a beneficial share under a trust, with a restriction on the register. Both can be a diminishing musharakah. Neither is ‘you borrowed money and they have a charge’, which is the mortgage.
A charge is a security interest over someone else’s asset. Co-ownership is an asset. If the documents only grant a charge, you have a mortgage whatever the covering letter says.
Scotland, and flats
Scotland has its own land register and its own habits. Flats add a leasehold, a freeholder, a sinking fund, and sometimes cladding. Islamic providers are picky about lease term remaining, ground rent, and buildings they cannot value. The fiqh of a 90-year lease is a lease of a lease. Read it as ijara stacked on ijara, then ask whether the provider will even offer.