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Buying your own house and your relationship is ending?
If you and your partner are in the process of buying your house or flat and your relationship is on the rocks then you may well be thinking can I leave and if I do what will happen to the house and will I be able to stay in it.
If you’re joint owners neither of you will be able to sell the house nor be forced out without the court ordering it. The court can make a range of orders from putting the house in one name to ordering the property sold and the proceeds divided (not always equally) or that one of you stays and possibly pay rent to the other.
If you can’t agree on who should stay in the house it is possible to apply for an occupation order. This could set out who stays in the house and other rules, especially if there is the danger of harm to you or the children. You can apply for this order if you are a joint owner or married or a straight couple who live together. At the moment gay couples do not have the same rights.
If your partner is the sole owner of the house then they will have fairly strong rights to stay in the house and may be able to give you notice to leave. But, if you are married or have children then you will have more rights – you could apply for an occupation order. If you are married than then you will have matrimonial home rights which means that in the short term you will be able to stay in the property. You may also be able to register a charge on the property which would stop your partner selling or re-mortgaging the house until the court decides what should happen in the long term. The final decision is usually made at the time of the divorce.
If you are not married and there are no children it may still be possible for you to claim a beneficial interest in the property. This would mean that you may have a right to stay in the property or have some of the money when the house is sold. If you are to claim this then will need to show the court that you have put money into paying for the house or you have written agreement with your partner or gave up your own property to move in.
Don’t forget that when things go to court you can never be sure of the outcome so it is always best to try and sort things out with your ex before you get there and then the judge will usually rubberstamp what you’ve decided.
This is only a very brief intro and the rules are very complicated for more info contact shelter on 0808 800 4444 or shelternet or Your local CAB.
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