The ‘Matrimonial Home’ is the property where a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership reside together. For most couples, the Matrimonial Home is the most valuable asset. However, the ‘Matrimonial Home’ may not be jointly owned. If the property is held in your spouse’s sole name, and the marriage breaks down, it is understandable that you may feel vulnerable and fear that they will attempt to evict you from the house or take steps to sell the property without your permission.
If you are concerned that your spouse who owns the property will sell or re-mortgage, it is important to protect yourself by registering a Home Rights Notice with the Land Registry.
Once Matrimonial Home Rights have been registered, you will be able to continue occupying the property without being disturbed, regardless of whether the property is in your name or not.
Registering a Home Rights Notice
When you register a home rights notice, your spouse cannot sell, transfer, or mortgage the property without first obtaining your consent. If your spouse goes ahead without taking your consent, the buyer or lender’s solicitor would be put on notice of your rights and the transaction cannot proceed until these are removed.
Basically, registering a Home Rights Notice notifies others of your right to occupy the property.
If you want to register your home rights notice, you must first find out if the home is registered or unregistered. A registered property will be included in the Land Registry which contains information about the property such as proof of ownership, description of property and any other interests relating to the property. An unregistered property is not included in the Land Registry but is kept in documents knows as Title Deeds.
Once you register your home rights notice, it will appear on the title deeds for an unregistered property or on the Land Registry for a registered property. Any potential buyer will then be able to see the home rights notice.
How Aristone Solicitors can help
We can assist with submitting an application on your behalf to register Matrimonial Homes Rights.
During proceedings, it is important to resolve the finances. If you and your spouse cannot agree on how the matrimonial home and other assets should be divided, we can assist. Firstly, we can enter into negotiations with your spouse. If negotiations do not produce a positive outcome, we can make an application to the Court on your behalf.
