You may have heard of a home rights notice but may be unclear on exactly what it is and whether you need one.
If you are living in a property that is registered in your civil partner or spouse’s sole name and it is the family home then you may wish to register a home rights notice at the Land Registry to protect your right to live in that property. Whilst you may not have previously felt it necessary to register a home rights notice, we often find that a relationship breakdown can be a trigger for the non-owning spouse or civil partner to seek protection. Please note that a home rights notice would not give you any right of ownership of the property.
Where there is a home rights notice in place you have the following protection:
- A right not to be evicted or excluded from the property except by a court order.
- A right, if not in occupation, to enter into and occupy the property.
- A right to be given notice of any mortgage possession proceedings and with the court’s permission to take part in the proceedings.
- The right for your mortgage or rent payments to be treated as that coming from the owning or tenant spouse or civil partner.
Are you eligible to register home rights?
You can apply for a home rights notice if you are married or in a civil partnership and decree absolute has not been pronounced (i.e. the marriage or civil partnership has not been dissolved).
If you are not married or in a civil partnership then a home rights notice will not apply to you. However, you can still legally apply to temporarily occupy the property provided certain criteria is met under the Family Law Act 1996. If you are unsure as the legal position a specialist family lawyer can help to advise you.
Home rights apply to the family home (the house where you have lived as a married couple or as civil partners) and do not extend to other properties such as 'buy to let' or investment properties.
When do home rights end?
Home rights end on the death of your spouse or civil partner, on decree absolute, by order of the court or by voluntarily agreement in writing from your spouse or civil partner.
Home rights and your lender
When home rights are registered they act as a legal charge on the property which indicates to third parties such as a potential buyer or lender that someone other than the registered owner has an interest or right in or over the property.
With a home rights notice in place, your partner or spouse will not be able to sell the property free of the charge unless you provide written consent.
Importantly, registering a home rights notice does not bind a lender or prevent them from repossessing a property. However, the lender will be legally required to serve notice of possession proceedings on you if you have registered a home rights notice and you can apply to the court to be joined to the possession proceedings.
In summary, if you are the non-owning spouse or civil partner then you may wish to consider applying for a home rights notice to protect your right to occupy the family home, especially following the breakdown of a relationship.
If you would like to know more about registering for a home rights notice, cancelling a home rights notice or home rights generally, then please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Family Law team.
