Can ex deny me access to a jointly owned property?

Computer_User · 2 January 2011 at 5:32PM

I still own a property with my ex. After splitting up I remained in the property for 3 months but he made it unbearable for me to live there with his aggressive, intimidating behavior. He was the one who ended the relationship after almost 5 years together. I moved out for my own health and sanity and I am currently renting elsewhere. I am still jointly named on the property and on the mortgage. I still have a large sum of money tied up in the property.

I understand that it is illegal to change the locks on the property. Is this the case? And would this be the case if he denies me access to the property? I.e. by changing the house alarm code on me?

The last time I went to the house to remove some of my belongings, my ex had changed the house alarm code. When I entered the property the alarm went off. I entered the code we had always used but the alarm did not de-activate. I rang him to tell him the alarm had gone off and the code was not working and asked him what the code was. He told me he did not know! The alarm continued to go off for 40 mins whilst I was at the property before it re-set itself. Despite trying the code several times the alarm did not de-activate. Shortly after this the police arrived to question me in my own home about what was going on. Since then he has denied changing the alarm code from the original code. I have researched on the internet and know that the alarm should have de-activated as soon as the correct code was entered even if I had accidentally miss-typed it the first time.

He is continuing to be totally unreasonable with the whole situation. I am the one who is trying to sort the whole issue out and either get the house sold or come to an agreement that one of us is buying the other out. I am worried that I may have given up some of my rights by moving out and removing my belongings from the property. Is this the case?

It continues to be a very stressful situation as we are not talking and he is being totally unreasonable and not open to any form of discussion or negotiation.

Please can someone help!?

Thanks

G_M · 2 January 2011 at 5:48PM

Computer_User wrote: »

I still own a property with my ex.
I understand that it is illegal to change the locks on the property. Is this the case? No. Any owner can change their own lock! And would this be the case if he denies me access to the property? I.e. by changing the house alarm code on me? He can only deny you entry with a court order.

The last time I went to the house to remove some of my belongings, my ex had changed the house alarm code. When I entered the property the alarm went off. I entered the code we had always used but the alarm did not de-activate. I rang him to tell him the alarm had gone off and the code was not working and asked him what the code was. He told me he did not know! The alarm continued to go off for 40 mins whilst I was at the property before it re-set itself. Despite trying the code several times the alarm did not de-activate. Shortly after this the police arrived to question me in my own home about what was going on. ... I assume you simply explained who you are and the police said 'fine - you have every right to be here' ?
He is continuing to be totally unreasonable with the whole situation. I am the one who is trying to sort the whole issue out and either get the house sold or come to an agreement that one of us is buying the other out. I am worried that I may have given up some of my rights by moving out and removing my belongings from the property. Is this the case? No. The property is registered in your joint names with the Land Registry.

It continues to be a very stressful situation as we are not talking and he is being totally unreasonable and not open to any form of discussion or negotiation.

Please can someone help!?

Thanks

As you have apparantly found out, you cannot be denied entry to your own house. The police attended a burglar alarm and took no action against you. If your key fails to open the lock, call a locksmith and ask them to force the lock for you. Then change it if you wish! The locksmith may want proof you are the owner before forcing the lock (otherwise any old person could ask them to do this!!), so download your property Title deeds from the Land Registry for £4 to show.

See a solicitor specialising in marital/domestic law. Get a court order to sell the property and split the equity.

DVardysShadow · 2 January 2011 at 6:01PM

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=39830028&highlight=#post39830028
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=39829912&highlight=#post39829912

Cross posted

Computer_User · 2 January 2011 at 6:13PM

Thanks for yr advice. When the police arrived I explained the situation. They then rang my ex to inform him I was at the property removing my belongings and to check this was ok with him.!? He told them it was fine as long as I was only taking MY items. !

cannot believe his cheek after what he has put me through!

BitterAndTwisted · 2 January 2011 at 6:35PM

He's obviously an a-hole and you're better off knowing that now than another five years down the line. Make an appointment with a solicitor as soon as you can but be warned you will not be able to force a sale without his agreement. If he wanted to be completely off the a-hole scale he could stop paying the mortgage and you'd still be equally liable for it.

Do you have any joint bank-accounts or credit cards with this person?

G_M · 2 January 2011 at 7:06PM

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

.....but be warned you will not be able to force a sale without his agreement. or a court order. If he wanted to be completely off the a-hole scale he could stop paying the mortgage and you'd still be equally liable for it.

Do you have any joint bank-accounts or credit cards with this person?

As notes above

princeofpounds · 2 January 2011 at 7:36PM

As noted above, an occupation order can be made to make it illegal for him to deny you access. The courts generally give occupation orders to part-owners and only tend to refuse them on grounds of personal safety or harassment.

You might not need it however, if you don't generally plan to access the property.

More importantly, the courts can order a sale or buy-out if you need to release the capital. Part-owners are not usually allowed to hold the other person's share 'hostage' indefinitely, although they can allowna short delay to arrange other accommodation. The main exception is where kids are involved and need to remain in the home.

treasuretiger · 2 January 2011 at 10:24PM

Computer_User wrote: »

cannot believe his cheek after what he has put me through!

i hope your get sorted soon! sounds like the sooner your life has no ties to him the better! while hes still linked too your life in some way he'll have some kinda affect to yur own sanity

Computer_User · 2 January 2011 at 10:56PM

Thanks for all your help and advice everyone.

luckily there are no kids involved. We did have a joint bank account together which took me well over a year to get shut - thanks very much to the HSBC! they were totally unhelpful. nightmare situation.

just the house to sort now.

thanks again!

Computer_User · 2 January 2011 at 10:59PM

oh yeh and i think he is going for the total A-hole award at present....as it stands he has paid nothing towards Dec's mortgage....we are now in projected arrears...but it is him who is wanting to buy the property from me...so he is the one trying to get another mortgage. I know we are jointly liable for the mortgage but he is the one living there with all the benefits of the house.

betmunch · 3 January 2011 at 10:40AM

If your in arrears with the current mortgage you might as well start planning what to do if he cant buy you out.

Without all the details we cant know for sure, but a missed payment in december on the current mortgage would not been looked at sympathically by any potential new lender

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Can ex deny me access to a jointly owned property?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free