Force of House Sale or Buy Out

Hi my husbands ex partner (they were not married) have moved her new partner into the house that he jointly owns with her. He has severed the joint tenancy (they are now tenants in common) and was happy to have their 3 children (under the age of 18) live in the property with his ex. Can he now force a sale given that she has another adult (her new partner) living there. Is there any laws saying she must sell the house (or of course by him out) now she has another adult partner in the home or would my husband have to go to court and have the opinion of a judge on this.
Thank you for any help
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Comments

  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    VickiL wrote: »
    Hi my husbands ex partner (they were not married) have moved her new partner into the house that he jointly owns with her. He has severed the joint tenancy (they are now tenants in common) and was happy to have their 3 children (under the age of 18) live in the property with his ex. Can he now force a sale given that she has another adult (her new partner) living there. Is there any laws saying she must sell the house (or of course by him out) now she has another adult partner in the home or would my husband have to go to court and have the opinion of a judge on this.
    Thank you for any help



    Ofcourse theres no laws on this.


    He wont be able to force a sale whilst their kids are under 18.
  • Presumably there was a written agreement that the ex could stay in the house whilst the children were under 18.


    I doubt very much that that agreement would have stated that the ex wasn't to move a new partner in


    My uneducated guess is that there is nothing your husband can do about it whilst appreciating that it might be annoying especially if he's still contributing to the mortgage
  • VickiL
    VickiL Posts: 5 Forumite
    Not entirely true at all - a court could allow either of them a force of sale if there is deemed enough equity in the house and sufficient funds and income for both to purchase new homes. The fact is that my husband hasn't ever asked for that and subsequently is in a very difficult financial position because of it - but his children come first.
    But now she has another income in the household and if nothing else the mortgage lenders should know about it. We were wondering if anything else changes either automatically or through a court and we were looking for comments on this subject from possible experts - not just flippant posts
  • VickiL
    VickiL Posts: 5 Forumite
    There is no agreement in writing - she initiated a possible buy out some years ago as she wanted him off the mortgage but lied about the value and equity and only offered him 23% of the equity so all talks stopped.
    thank you for your comments though
  • anna_1977
    anna_1977 Posts: 862
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    Hi
    I'm not sure who you think has been flippant I have read the couple of comments and didn't feel they were.

    Just wondering why you think the mortgage lenders should know? As long as the mortgage is being paid what's the issue?

    You can go to court to try to force the sale of the house, my brother did this successfully with his ex (two kids under 18) but it also cost over £10k in fees so is it really worth it.

    Really I'm not sure what the issue is - she's got a new partner and he's living in the house. You're married to the other half of that broken relationship ......
  • Who has been paying the mortgage? Her, him or half and half?


    To be honest, whilst it might have been easier at the time, he was a little naïve not to get an agreement at the time of the split about the house. I would have also expected an agreement include information re payment of the mortgage / equity split to save any further disagreements.


    Anna_1977 I'm only guessing but perhaps it could be something to do with the fact that whilst there is (presumably) a mortgage in both their names, the OP's husband is financially tied to his ex as well as being liable for extra stamp duty should he want to buy a property with the OP
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    VickiL wrote: »
    Not entirely true at all - a court could allow either of them a force of sale if there is deemed enough equity in the house and sufficient funds and income for both to purchase new homes. The fact is that my husband hasn't ever asked for that and subsequently is in a very difficult financial position because of it - but his children come first.
    But now she has another income in the household and if nothing else the mortgage lenders should know about it. We were wondering if anything else changes either automatically or through a court and we were looking for comments on this subject from possible experts - not just flippant posts



    What's it got to do with the mortgage lenders?


    - I'm pretty good on my housing law. There is no law that states a BF in anyway changes the situation. Courts are very unlikely to force a sale whilst children are under 18, and a forced sale costs £5-25,000 - goodluck.
  • VickiL
    VickiL Posts: 5 Forumite
    Because it leaves him in a very difficult position financially not having his money from the house. He is of course prepared to pay for his children but now that his ex partners financial situation has changed and improved he would like his to improve too.
    I guess it is very easy to not see what the problem is when you are not aware of most of the background
  • VickiL
    VickiL Posts: 5 Forumite
    Legally anyone over the age of 18 in residing in a house has rights - the mortgage lenders like to know of these things. Ask your own they will give you the same answer.
    As I said before the courts will force a sale if the equity in the property allows both people to afford new homes combined with their household incomes - she can afford it but he wouldn't ever push a sale in the interests of his children - but things have changed with her situation
  • Kynthia
    Kynthia Posts: 5,665
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    VickiL wrote: »
    Legally anyone over the age of 18 in residing in a house has rights - the mortgage lenders like to know of these things. Ask your own they will give you the same answer.
    As I said before the courts will force a sale if the equity in the property allows both people to afford new homes combined with their household incomes - she can afford it but he wouldn't ever push a sale in the interests of his children - but things have changed with her situation

    I'm not aware of any mortgage lender requiring notification of other adults living in the property after the mortgage has been taken out even though many ask the question when initially taking the mortgage. You are supposed to request permission if you want to let the property out, and some want to be notified if a lodger moves in but not all. So legally the boyfriend moving in makes no difference.

    OP this is why finances should be sorted when people break up as circumstances change and people get resentful. He needs to have an idea of what the property is worth, deduct what the outstanding mortgage is, take a little off for typical selling costs (mortgage redemption fee, solicitor fee, estate agent commission, etc) and then halve it. That is the most he can ask for and if his ex can't or wont pay it he needs to decide if he'll take less to avoid the cost of forcing a sale, or whether to initiate court proceedings.
    Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!
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