When a couple separate there will usually be no shortage of well-meaning family and friends offering advice. However, the priority is usually securing the housing arrangements, particularly when there are children involved. ‘Home Rights’ can be a way of providing that security.
What are Home Rights?
When a married couple separate, if only one of them owns the house, this can leave the non-owning party in a precarious position. Can they stay? Do they have to move out? With a successful application for Home Rights, the spouse who doesn’t own the property can stay in the home without having to endure a costly, time-consuming Court process.
It is easiest to explain by way of example:
Dave and Jane have been married for 10 years and have two children, Isabelle (age 8) and Sam (age 6). The family home is in Dave’s sole name because he’d bought it prior to him and Jane marrying.
On separation, Dave moves out, leaving Jane and the two children in the home.
Dave says he’s putting the house up for sale and stopping paying the mortgage. He’s no longer living in the house and wants to use the sale proceeds to buy his own place. Jane wants to remain in the house with the children in the short-term so that the kids’ lives and schooling aren’t disrupted. This will also give her time to figure out what a fair split of the assets is.
Without Home Rights
If Jane doesn’t have Home Rights, then Dave can, in effect, sell the house from under her and the children. If this happens, and Dave receives all the money from the sale, Jane and the kids must find somewhere else to live. It could also be difficult for Jane to get her share of the money from Dave in the future as he may spend some/all of it.
With Home Rights
If Jane had applied for Home Rights, she would have had the following:
- The right not to be evicted from the property.
- The right to pay the mortgage in place of Dave.
Further, if Jane had Home Rights, Dave wouldn’t have been able to sell the house in the first place. This is because Jane’s Home Rights would have been registered on the official title to the property at the Land Registry. This means that even if Dave had put the property on the market and found a buyer, the buyer’s solicitor would have advised the buyers not to buy the house. Due to Jane’s Home Rights, they would, in effect, be buying the house with Jane still being able to live there. As such, the sale would not even get off the ground.
From the example above, it can hopefully be seen that Jane would be in a much better position if she had her Home Rights in place.
Who can apply?
Home Rights are only available for someone separating from a marriage or civil partnership. This means that those who are not married, i.e. cohabitants, can’t apply.
How to apply for Home Rights
Because Home Rights give such good protection, applying must be difficult and expensive, right?
Actually, it’s very simple and the Land Registry don’t even charge a fee!
To apply, simply complete the application form and send it to the Land Registry - Notice of home rights: registration (HR1) - GOV.UK
Anything else to be aware of?
Home Rights come to an end once the divorce is finalised. This means that once the Final Order for the divorce has been made, the Home Rights cease. It is possible to apply for an extension of the Home Rights. However, it is usually much better to sort out all financial aspects of the separation, including what’s going to happen with the house, before the Final Order of the divorce is obtained.
What next
Whilst applying for Home Rights is a simple process, it doesn’t deal with the issue of how the assets, including the house, should be divided up between the separating couple. Therefore, applying for Home Rights should just be the fist step to obtain some immediate protection.
The next step should be looking at how to make long-term arrangements for how the assets should be split, as well as arrangements for any children in terms of how they will divide their time between both parents.
At Belderbos Solicitors, we specialise exclusively in Family Law and give you all the advice you need on Home Rights. Get in touch for a no-obligation call-back at a time that suits you.
