Home Rights
Home rights are short-term rights which exist while the marriage/cp lasts (until the final decree of divorce). The long-term decisions about the rights to live in the home or to get a share of the proceeds if it is sold, will have to be made as part of the divorce financial settlement. If violence has been threatened or used against you, making it unsafe for you to live in the family home, you can apply to the court to protect yourself and sometimes gain an occupation order which can exclude your spouse/cp or allow you to re-enter the home.
The spouse/cp who does not legally own the family home – that is, whose name is not on the title deeds – has certain ‘home rights’:
- The right not to be evicted without a court order if he or she is in occupation.
- The right (if the court thinks fit) to return to the home if he or she has left it.
- The right (if the court thinks fit) to exclude the owner spouse/cp from occupying the home for a period (usually only when violence has occurred).
The same occupation rights apply if the home is rented. And also apply to a property which the couple intended to use as their home but which they never actually occupied.
Consult the experts. For more information or a free legal opinion telephone 020-7381-8111 (24 hour service) or email law@rhplaw.co.uk.
