If you and your partner split up, it is important to make sure that your partner doesn't sell the home without your agreement. If this happens, you are likely to lose any rights to the home you might have had. Your partner cannot sell the home without your consent if you are the sole or a joint owner.
Your partner may also try to give the property away, or use it to raise a loan or second mortgage. They may try to do this to stop you living in the home, or to prevent you from getting a financial share in it.
Whose agreement is needed before a sale?
The consent of all the property owners is required to sell the property, unless a sale has been ordered by the courts (see below). If you and your partner are joint legal owners, both need to give their consent, unless, again, a court has ordered the sale.
I am married/in a civil partnership
If you think your spouse/civil partner may try to sell the home without your consent, there are ways you may be able to prevent this from happening. Most options are best taken before your relationship legally ends so that any property settlement can be decided as part of the divorce/dissolution proceedings.
Register your home rights
Make sure you register your home rights before your marriage or civil partnership ends. This will prevent the home being sold, as it will show up on any search a potential buyer makes on the home. If you are a sole or joint owner, your ownership will be registered at the Land Registry (a national register). You can check whether you are on the Land Registry by looking at their website and paying a small fee. If you are not a joint or sole owner but have established a beneficial interest in your home, that interest will be registered at the Land Registry. If your home rights are not registered then you will have no right to stay in the home if it's being sold or repossessed.
Restriction or notice
If you are a joint legal owner, you may want to protect your interests in the home by registering a restriction or notice on the land register. You can do this before you start the divorce/dissolution process, or even if you are not going to apply for a divorce or dissolution. There are different kinds of restriction or notice, but their main function is to show up on property searches through the Land Registry and so alert a potential buyer that there is a dispute over the property. You can register a restriction or notice using forms from the Land Registry website. There is a small fee for this service.
Make an application for a property adjustment order
If you apply for a property adjustment order as part of divorce/dissolution proceedings, your application can be held together with the rest of the information on your property at the Land Registry. Please see the section on sorting out disagreements over the home for more information about property adjustment orders. It would be unlikely that a sale would go through if there was a dispute of this kind over the property. If you would like to apply for a property adjustment order, you should seek advice from a family law solicitor.
Ordering a sale
If you are a joint legal owner, or you don't own the property but have a beneficial interest, and you and your partner can't agree on whether the home should be sold, you can apply for an order for sale from the courts.
An order for sale will declare any beneficial interest and can order or delay the sale of a home. Many different couples can use this option, whether they are married or engaged. You will need to get advice from a solicitor before taking action, and apply through the county court.
Apply for an injunction through the courts
An injunction is a court order that stops something happening and might be part of divorce/dissolution proceedings . Courts will only grant injunctions if it is clear that your partner is deliberately trying to prevent you from having any share of the house. Again, if you want to apply for an injunction, you should seek advice from a family law solicitor.
I am cohabiting (not married or in a registered civil partnership)
If you're cohabiting and are neither a joint or sole owner, you will have to rely on establishing a beneficial interest to prevent the sale or remortgage of the home.
Beneficial interest recognises contributions both partners have made towards the home, for example, mortgage payments, renovation of the home or paying bills. Beneficial interest can only be established through the courts and will require a solicitor. If the court thinks it's appropriate, it could prevent the sale of a home when assessing your beneficial interest.
A home can still be sold if you have beneficial interest, as your partner may apply for an 'order for sale' (see 'ordering a sale', below). The court may grant an order if it decides you will receive a fair share of a sale based on your beneficial interest.
If you have children, and you are caring for them, it is possible to prevent the sale of a property if the court decides it is for the good of the children.
Ordering a sale
If you are a joint legal owner, or you don't own the property but have beneficial interest, and you and your partner can't agree on whether the home should be sold, you can apply for an order for sale from the courts.
An order for sale will declare any beneficial interest, and can allow or postpone the sale of a home. Many different couples can use this option, but being a cohabitee does make the process more complicated and costly. You will need to get advice from a solicitor before taking action.
Restriction or notice
If you are a joint legal owner, you may want to protect the interests in your home by registering a restriction or notice on the land register. There are different kinds of restriction or notice, but their main function is to show up on property searches through the Land Registry and serve to alert a potential buyer that there is a dispute over the property. You can register a restriction or notice using forms from the Land Registry. There is a small fee for this service.
What if my partner is trying to give the home away?
If your home is given away, or sold for an unreasonably small amount of money, you shouldn't lose your home rights or beneficial interest, even if these rights aren't registered. This means that you shouldn't be forced out of your home after it's given away. If this has happened to you, you will need to seek advice immediately. Use our advice services directory to find an adviser near you.
