ExH wants to evict me from family home

[DdayforDjango]

Hi, regular user with a name change. Need some help with my rights in Scotland.

Been separated for a year, I've been living in the family home with DCs while my new house is built, and it is due to be ready in 5 weeks. Separation agreement has been signed, things have been relatively amicable, no nastiness in front of the DCs (he is very bitter, but he doesn't communicate much any other time, one of the reasons we split). I have kept him fully informed of my moving out date etc and had taken his lack of reply to mean agreement.

ExH emailed me at the weekend to say that his mortgage company need him to have vacant possession of the house in 3 weeks time (he has remortgaged to release equity to me as part of the settlement). He has told me that I need to be out then, that he will keep the DCs with him for the first week and then they can go and live with his parents for the rest of the time until I move in to the new house. This will be during first two weeks of school term and already my DS is dreading going back. I can't begin to imagine how unsettling this will be for him.

I've emailed him back to suggest that we sort this out informally, and that my intention is to stay in the house until my house is ready (as I had informed him several weeks ago). If he doesn't back down I'll also be telling him that the DCs will be staying with me, wherever we end up.

Where do I stand? We don't have a tenancy agreement - he has been covering the mortgage, utilities etc in lieu of child maintenance payments - but can he force me to move out?

Any advice much appreciated.

Stay till your new house is ready. I wouldn't go unless I had an eviction order by the courts.

Is there any reason the mortgage can't be completed two weeks later? I'd suggest that.

Thank you for those quick replies.

He would have to reapply for his mortgage, which would cost him money (and would probably hold up the release of funds to me).

I think he's just decided to get nasty, because I'm moving to a shiny new house and he is returning to the one full of memories.

I'm thinking he can't evict me without a court order, but now he's started being nasty I can also see him doing things like changing locks while I'm at work (which I will be on the date of his new mortgage).

I think the him having to rearrange the mortgage is a threat. Mortgages get delayed for all sorts of reasons. At worst re applying is likely to be a formality.

change the locks yourself now, and don't give him a new key until you leave. Say you had your bag stolen and had to do this for security reasons.

Thanks, just off phone to a friend who has lots of rental properties, he is also suggesting changing the locks and/or adding bolts. I don't really want things to get nasty, but have completely lost faith in him with this latest move and feel he is probably capable of just about anything.

I think he had difficulty getting the mortgage in the first place, but yes, he can probably delay for a fortnight.

So glad he is no longer my H.