Renting out his half of the house when she's still there?

baffledsalmon

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me! This is a bit of a confusing one!
My boyfriend got married and bought a house with his wife. It turned out she was cheating on him, they had a blazing row and she chucked him out and called the police (because he's in the police and she basically did it to try and embarrass him in front of his friends). Now he has no keys to the house and she won't sell it, or move out so he can have it to himself. He pays half the mortgage and all the payments for things like sofas etc they bought when they were together, but they are still married because divorce proceedings haven't started yet. So my question is, does he have the right to rent out his half of the house? It's a three bedroomed house so could he rent out one of the rooms? The problem is that because of his job, he's scared she'll call the police again and get him in trouble at work!!
Any help would be appreciated because it's stressing me out, let alone him!!
Thanks!

CLAPTON

he needs a good divorce lawyer asap

sarahb

It doesn't sound very practical - who would want to pay rent to live in a house where they are likely to be made to feel extremely unwelcome ?

Caz3121

are there any children involved.
He is entitled to keys for him own property
He is best to see a lawyer re this, if she has the whole house to herself then in some cases she would be expected to pay all the mortgage as he will have his own living costs.
Does he earn a lot more than her (she could make a claim for maintenance)

DawnW

He really does need a lawyer, particularly as in his job, everything needs to be done by the book.
Good luck x

50plusabit

Lawyer and leave them to get on with it, if he's a copper, he should be sorting it himself.

foxy-roxy

As everyone else has said get laywer before she bleeds him dry

tek-monkey

Err, its still half his house. He is entitled to live there if he chooses, she can' stop him having keys. Does he have a REALLY unpleasant mate he could let his room to?

Thriftysaver

He is still entitled to access to HIS house. She can't just expect him to pay half and have the life of Riley. He needs a solicitor. The only person who can stop him having access is a judge. If there are children involved then she may get the right to stay. But he needs to start sorting this out with divorce proceedings and sale of the house asap. It will be easier if there are no kids as both have a right to stay, so maybe she could buy him out.

Thriftysaver

gizmo111

How long has this been going on? Presumably he became your boyfriend after he left his wife, which would suggest a few months at least.
Are there any children involved?
How long have they been married?
Whose name is the house in?
Who paid the deposit?
Why were the police involved? Is she sugestingsome form of DV?
Your boyfriend can start divorce proceedings very easily.
Have a look at www.ondivorce.co.uk for more specific advice, but a lawyer is the way forward asap

baffledsalmon

Thanks all for your advice.
I met him about 6 months after they split up and there's no children involved (they're only 25, were together since they were 15 and married at 24)! He earns about £29k and he thinks she's now on about £23-25k. They were married four months before he found out she was cheating and they split, but it's now over a year since they were married so are getting divorced soon. They bought the house together, shared the deposit as far as I know and the mortgage is in both of their names. She called the police because she knew full well his friends would have to turn up to sort it out, hence embarrassing him in the process.
He's going to start divorce proceedings soon, but whilst that goes through, it's annoying that he's paying for a house he can't live in!
I've told him to get a locksmith and changing the locks but again is worried that this will have an impact when it comes to the divorce. Either that, or threaten to move back in. The only problem there is that she sounds like a bit of a... well... less "moral" woman, who would agree because she'd see it as a free sh*g!!! Plus he cannot bear to speak to her on the phone let alone live with her, and it would just make him miserable!
Ideally, yes, he would get a solicitor but as we all know it's very costly and he's aiming to keep things amicable at the moment so that the divorce can go through ASAP! Nightmare!!! Thanks all!