Relationship Breakdown
Whether you can stay in the home after you split up will depend partly on what rights you have to it. Your rights differ according to whether you are a joint or sole tenant, and your relationship status.
I am married or in a civil partnership
If you are married or in a civil partnership with someone who is an owner or tenant, you have home rights. 'Home rights' is a legal term that generally means that you can live in your home as if you were the owner or tenant.
I am the sole or joint tenant/owner
If you are a sole or joint tenant or sole or joint owner, you have rights to the home. These will be set up in the deeds to your property or in your tenancy agreement. If you live with a spouse or civil partner, their rights are called home rights and are largely the same as if they were the tenant or owner.
I am a living with someone (cohabiting)
If you are living with someone but are not the sole or joint tenant or owner, you will need to apply for an occupation order if you want to get home rights, which would allow you to stay in the home. Home rights will only last as long as the occupation order does. However, courts do not usually grant an occupation order in these circumstances. Exceptions might be if you have children and you have no alternative accommodation, or if there is proof of domestic violence or abuse. If you want to establish long-term rights to the home, you will have to go to court to prove beneficial interest.
What are the benefits of having home rights?
Home rights give you the right to:
- pay the rent or mortgage, and
- live in the home as though you were the tenant or owner.
Home rights usually end if one partner dies, or on divorce or dissolution of a registered civil partnership. A court can extend home rights in either circumstance - if you are in this situation, get advice from Citizens Advice, a Shelter advice centre or a solicitor.
Home rights and tenancies
If your spouse/civil partner is the tenant, their tenancy is secure, assured or regulated and they leave, the tenancy will continue unless they give a valid notice to quit to the landlord. If you have home rights, the following options are available:
- If your partner wants to end the tenancy, there may be action you can take to stop them.
- If your landlord is seeking possession of your home, you could apply to postpone court proceedings (while you gather information to respond to the landlord's action).
If your partner's tenancy is an assured shorthold, bear in mind that the landlord can end it by serving two months' notice, and does not need to have a reason for doing so. At the end of the notice, the landlord has to apply for a court order. Usually, the court will award possession to the landlord and the judge will make a '28 day order'. If you don't leave at the end of the 28 days, the landlord has to apply for a bailiffs' warrant. The bailiffs' office will serve you with another notice giving an eviction date (usually two weeks ahead). Because an assured shorthold tenancy offers little security, it's sensible to talk to the landlord about wherther they will let you stay on before deciding whether to apply for home rights.
Home rights and ownership
If you've registered your home rights, the mortgage lender would have to advise you of any court action your partner might intend to take. In some cases, you can take part in legal proceedings to defend possession of your home by the mortgage lender.
Registering home rights
If you are a spouse or civil partner (but are not the joint or sole owner/tenant), you may want to consider registering your home rights. Once your home rights have been registered you will be able to:
- prevent the owner from selling the home
- prevent the owner from getting loans against the home, and
- receive information if the home is being repossessed.
If you register your home rights, your spouse or civil partner will be told, and can challenge your application. The Land Registry produces a leaflet explaining how you can register home rights.
