Access to former marital home

SpaceSaver

I separated from my wife 3 years ago and the divorce was finalised over a year ago. The marital home (where she lives with our young son) and mortgage are now solely in her name and I have a charge on the property.

It's all been amicable and since we separated I have had unrestricted access to the house with a set of keys - mainly for use with our son.

During a conversation with a colleague I happened to mention this arrangement and she commented that her ex-husband was forced to hand over his keys (not a particularly amicable divorce but no violence involved) and was only allowed access with her permission.

I am not intending to rock the boat but I'm just curious as to where I stand legally with regards access to the house?

tyllwyd

Why would you have any legal right of access to a house that you no longer own or live in? You have a financial interest in the property, but my understanding would be that's all.

InsideInsurance

You have a mutual agreement, they have theirs.

tea_lover

As far as I understand it (which may be not at all lol), you have no legal right of access to the house. However, the home owner clearly trusts you enough to let you have keys - no different to you giving a family member or friend keys to your house.

Jagraf

SpaceSaver wrote: »

I separated from my wife 3 years ago and the divorce was finalised over a year ago. The marital home (where she lives with our young son) and mortgage are now solely in her name and I have a charge on the property.

It's all been amicable and since we separated I have had unrestricted access to the house with a set of keys - mainly for use with our son.

During a conversation with a colleague I happened to mention this arrangement and she commented that her ex-husband was forced to hand over his keys (not a particularly amicable divorce but no violence involved) and was only allowed access with her permission.

I am not intending to rock the boat but I'm just curious as to where I stand legally with regards access to the house?

On what grounds would you think you had access? Just curious, but she has every right to ask for the keys back if she wants to, as far as I know. She given you he keys to make life easier all round i would think, but its at her discretion.

FBaby

If she is happy for you to have access, then it is not an issue. It would become one if she asked the keys back and you refused, or changed the locks as the property is clearly not yours.

If she trusts you and she thinks there is a convenient reason to it, then there's nothing wrong with it. Just NEVER go in without her prior approval (preferably by tex/email).

TBagpuss

You have no legal right to access - it is no longer either your house or your home. As you have a charge over the property, you are effectively a mortgage lender, which may allow you to take steps to re-posess the house in certain specified circumstances but gives you absolutely not right to access in the mean time. At present, you have access because your ex-wife has chosen to give you access, and she could revoke that permission at any time and for any reason (or no reason).

Until any final financial order is made, or any property actually transferred, if there is no order, then if a house is in joint names both owners are legally entitled to access the house, so your colleague may not have been entitled to 'make' her ex hand over his keys. However, once someone is no longer living in the house it is inappropriate, and extremely bad manners, to go in without explicit consent from the person living there, and may, depending on the situation, amount to harassment.

PasturesNew

My guess would be that while she's happy for you to have a set of keys, for the purposes of making things easy with arrangements re your son, if she changes her mind at any point, for any reason, in the future, then that's tough for you but that'll be the end of it.

If she changes the locks and says "no more", that's it. You have no rights. You've got the keys as it's amicable and suits you both right now. If it failed to suit her any more in the future she could simply change her mind.

You've got keys at the moment based on trust and a verbal arrangement. No more.

Jagraf

My ex picked our daughter up from my house whle I was at work the other week (she's old enough to be in the house on her own). While she was packing upstairs, he brought in all his small children and his wife, put the telly on and made himself a brew. When I came back from work there were mucky shoe marks all over my stair carpet.

Now I won't even let him in to go to the loo.

It's funny I think he still thinks he owns me!

Guest101

The only rights you have to the house, given that you have a charge on the property is to enquire the state of house insurance that is in place, effectively protecting your interests.

You have no legal right of access.