advice needed separating ex getting nasty

[AndThatsWhatIThinkOfYou]

so we have finally decided to end it after a year of trying. we have 2 Dds aged 4 and 4 months.

He won't move out of the rented house until the day the rent is due so I cant apply for housing benefit until then (I am on mat leave and only worked part time so am on bare minimum money)

He is planning on moving back to his family home that I can only describe as a cess pit, dog poo on the floor mould in the fridge.(I do all the housework) so as you can imagine it is not suitable for children however my ex is saying he has got a solicitor he will be applying for joint custody which means we have to share the tax credits? (the is after bragging about how much money he will be saving by moving home)

he works shifts eg nights, early mornings, so if he wants joint custody will this go against him?

can someone please advise as he is getting nasty, would a social worker or health visitor go and inspect the house before?

he has banned any of my friends coming round to see me and slandering me all over facebook.

I am at a loss what to do.

any advice much appreciated

the safety and health of my children comes first and foremost this is not just untidyness it's dog shit on the floor mould in the fridge plates being left on the floor for the dog to lick, no use of a vacuum cleaner. the place stinks! thank you for your advice have spoke to HV she advised a solicitor so that's my next move

Where on earth does this thing about not letting the ex see his children spring from? OP is rightly concerned about the conditions he may be planning to keep them in if they have overnights. That is a million miles away from keeping them apart. I live with DS4 full time because frankly, his dad lived in a pit and liked it that way. It was a perfectly good 3-bed house but he kept it in a dangerously filthy and cluttered state. This is not good for children, and it was the school, backed up by SS, who pretty much forced us to agree that DS should live with me full time. However he does still have a good relationship with his dad, and rightly so. They go out to restaurants, the shops, and XH's relatives' houses, which are a whole lot cleaner and actually have chairs you can sit on.

OP would be a very bad parent if she were happy to let a 4-month-old spend 3 or 4 days a week in a house full of mould and dog poo. I can't understand anyone disagreeing with that. Differing standards of housekeeping I'll grant you, but downright squalor is another thing.