Leaving husband - Housing Association house in my sole name

[doloresclaiborne]

I started a thread last year about my husband and unfortunately things are no further forward.

We live in my HA property (in my sole name).

Every few months or so there is a blow up and he tells me that he wants a divorce. The last one of these was in October.

He started looking for another rented property but he could not find anything that he liked, that would take his cat (he had the cat before we married and doesn't want to leave her with me) and he also has an unsatisfied CCJ for £6k, which means that he would fail any credit checks on a new rented place.

As we are married I cannot throw him out. So in October I started looking at alternative properties and found a shared ownership house in the next village. I am now at a stage with this where I could exchange and complete and move out of my HA house.

However this would leave him in the property and I am not certain of the implications of this, for example if he carried on paying the rent would he be able to stay there? Or would the HA evict him?

I feel absolutely trapped by my situation. I would prefer to stay in my house and him to leave but he won't move out. If I leave my HA property then he will probably need to find somewhere else to live anyway as they might not give the tenancy to him.

I have spoken to a solicitor who tells me I can just give him notice to leave, but I am not sure this advice is correct, as we are married.The solicitor said you cannot have home rights on a rented property but I don't think this is correct.

Sorry, I am rambling. But I have to make a decision now. Either I pull out of the shared ownership place and stay where I am, with him. Or I move out and give notice on my HA house.

Does anyone have any advice to offer. I have asked my friends but they all think I should stay where I am. However they don't have to live with someone they want to divorce from.

Thanks

[7yo7yo]

Why haven’t you listened to the solicitor? They are right.
It’s a rented home in your name, it would be different if you had bought it.
Give him notice to leave.

[7yo7yo]

And yes you should stay where you ar.

[gamerchick]

The house is in your name OP. When I got married I had to physically go and put him on the tenancy. They didn't want to at first because he would have equal rights to the house.

So you can give him a choice of leaving or getting evicted.

[Hoppinggreen]

Why don’t you believe your (presumably) qualified Solicitor and are asking for advice on here instead?
Have you asked the HA as well?

[MorbidPodcastFan]

Its just a rented property and he isnt on the tenancy.
Give him 28 days notice to leave.
Do not accept any rent or money off of him in the mean time. At all. (As this can legally complicate things) and carry on your life.

[gutful]

You would be mad to let go of a council house.

A lawyer has told you what to do.

If you have legally separated you’re not married anymore & you can give notice to vacate.

Am sure housing association would not force you to continue living with your ex, no matter even if you are still legally married. That sounds like a toxic situation which would affect your mental health.

You are the sole leaseholder - just ring the housing association. This can’t be the first time this has occurred.

Do not, repeat do not give up your council house for someone who isn’t even on the lease. That would be madness.

[Iwantacookie]

Definitely give him notice. Do not give up a council house unless your absolutely positive it is best for you. You probably wont get offered another.

[MrsMoastyToasty]

You kick him out. (You are the tenant. He is an unwanted guest)
He registers as homeless with the council.

[doloresclaiborne]

I am not sure about the advice from the solicitor because of this link from Shelter

england.shelter.org.uk/legal/relationship_breakdown/marriedcivil_partners_sole_tenant/relationship_breakdown_law_for_spouses_and_civil_partners_in_a_sole_tenancy

[doloresclaiborne]

And this link also

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/renting-your-rights-to-your-home-during-divorce-or-dissolution

[Mrsjayy]

You are wasting money on a solicitor if you are just googling advice just go with that I am being snippy but this is your house so you either ask him to leave or the HA will and you probably need to tell them you are leaving him because it will fall back on you.

[pinkyredrose]

I have spoken to a solicitor who tells me I can just give him notice to leave, but I am not sure this advice is correct, as we are married.The solicitor said you cannot have home rights on a rented property but I don't think this is correct

Your solicitor knows more about law than you do.

[BertTheBeetle]

If you are in a position to buy a shared ownership property and move towards owning your own home then morally and ethically you should do so - and allow another family in need to benefit from your HA property.

[Stripyhoglets1]

He won't be able to stay in your H A property. They will need it for another family.

[Forestdweller11]

I think there might be implications with regard to any purchased house. You need to check that, if you are still married (albeit separated) with no financial settlement, your new house doesn't become part of the pot of assets to be divided up. Plus the cash you've used as a deposit etc.

[yesyoudoknowme]

My friend lives in HA housing with only her name on the tenancy if you leave he WILL be evicted - you cannot even pass tenancies to children any more - like you used to be able to so he has no hope of keeping it. Stay put and kick him out FFS.

[Mrsjayy]

You would honestly be better ringing or email ing your housing officer about this they can tell you exactly what the policy is.

[doloresclaiborne]

I am a Legal Executive myself but not in this area. I work in Private Client. However I am not sure about the advice I have been given and I am not randomly googling the law on this. The legislation is here

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/27/part/IV/crossheading/rights-to-occupy-matrimonial-home

This is the reason I am not sure about what I have been told. It didn't sound right when he told me that my husband was simply a "licensee"

I don't have a huge amount of savings but I do have enough for a 5% deposit on a 25% share of this shared ownership house, which will equate to about £2,500 ish.

[NettleTea]

if you buy anything, whilst still married, it will be part of the assets that need splitting. In fact your 5% may need splitting anyway.

If you leave your HA home then they will evict him

I suspect that the rent for the other 75% may be more expensive in the long run than your HA rent, and there have been lots of reports of all sorts of trouble with these shared ownership properties, especially when you try to sell, or try to buy more of a percentage. If you are going to be relying on HB or UC to pay the rest of the rent it will make it harder for you to get off benefits as the amount of rent may be far greater.

speak to your housing association.

[RickiTarr]

You’re married now, so you can add him to your HA tenancy now. They can’t refuse except on very limited grounds, as you are married. Then when you buy your SO place, request to have your name removed from the joint tenancy on the basis that you are separating and moving out. That leaves him with a sole name tenancy on the HA house. Which resolves it all with minimum hostility.

Obviously only add him to your tenancy if you are absolutely sure you will be moving out.

[chocolateoranges33]

I used to work in social housing and being married does affect your tenancy regardless of if he is on the tenancy or not. Please contact your Housing Officer who will be able to advise you on what you can or cant do. In all honesty, I imagine you will be advised that you can end your tenancy formally in writing and if he remains there afterwards, they will deal with him (he wont be able to stay as a single man in I assume family sized accommodation). Your housing officer will have seen this many, many times before and will be able to advise you correctly. They will also suggest you seek independent legal advice so please ask for their recommendation on someone local who has knowledge in social housing as they generally know more about this matter than the average private solicitor. Good luck!

[doloresclaiborne]

Thank you for all of your comments, which I do appreciate.

Yes, the shared ownership house worries me for all sorts of reasons. To be fair the overall monthly costs (rent + mortgage) is not that much more expensive than my current rent but obviously there are other costs to consider, such as maintenance etc.

But the thought of not being able to get him out of my house is something I just can't deal with. I feel absolutely trapped by him and by the situation generally. He won't move out voluntarily.

So my choices appear to be:

1. Stay where I am and suck it up until I get a decree absolute.
2. Move to the shared ownership house now and give notice on the HA house, at which point he will be evicted anyway.
3. If the shared ownership house is a bad idea financially then move to a privately rented property, but obviously this is not very secure.

I really don't have a lot of savings. The deposit for the mortgage is about £2,337 and I have enough for this, as well as the costs of removals and some new white goods.

[RickiTarr]

Definitely go for shared ownership over private renting, if you’re financially savvy enough to save for contingencies and use it as a stepping stone to full ownership.

[Wyntersdiary]

If you buy anything then he has rights to it and can go for 50 % of everything you have so I wouldn't be buying anything. I would just give him notice and if he doesn't leave you can call the police and ask them what to do Regarding the trespassing

[MixMatch]

Make sure you FULLY read up on shared ownership before you jump.into it if you're going to buy it privately (i.e. not living in it as a HA tenant). There's a lot of downsides and some people have ended up in financial ruin due to repair costs, cladding scandals etc.