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Original poster

Can husband rent our mortgaged family home to me?

10 replies

lirea1 · 26/02/2023 18:17

Hi all. I'll try to be brief. It can be seen as a bit of a messy and incomprehensible situation..

My husband and I share DC. We separated over 18 months ago. Myself and child remained in the property. He moved out to I'm not too sure where, although I suspect in with his mother for the last few months. He continued to pay for the mortgage but hasn't done any childcare nor seen DC more than 3 times in the last 12 months. He voluntarily refuses to contact DC although the means are available. He put the the house up for sale with a fast-selling agency without my consent/knowledge but soon after that backfired because I have a notice of home rights on the property. I pay all bills, grocery and do all childcare. as well as pay for breakfast/after school clubs. I have asked him to contribute towards DC or make time to see DC, he refused. He also said he won't divorce.

A few weeks ago, I applied for CM through CMS, I was surprised the application process was very quick. He was foaming when they contacted him and later informed him of how much he needs to pay every month. He submitted a variations application because he is obviously paying for the mortgage but was told it will take about 5 months for it to process. The CMS agent explained that upon assessment of his application they would deduct half of the mortgage from CM payments, which is fine.

Now, my question is can he rent our property out to me and would I be obliged by his mortgage provider to sign the contract and pay him rent? because he doesn't live here..

Please note, I am not on the mortgage nor the house deed.

OP posts:
Hoardasurass · 26/02/2023 19:03

Ok 1st in the UK he can't refuse to divorce you, you can file for divorce yourself.
2nd the house is a marital asset and is atleast half yours no matter whether you are on the mortgage/deeds or not
3rd get a lawyer/speak to shelter as if he's having 1/2 the mortgage deducted from your cash payment I don't think he can nor do you need to sign anything so don't

category12 · 26/02/2023 19:12

Have you spoken to a solicitor? You really need to do that.

It's most likely that, if you're in the UK, the family home would be considered a marital asset, therefore you have a claim on it whether you're on the deeds or not. So it would be silly to pay rent on something you part-own.

Talk to a solicitor. You can divorce him whether he likes it or not - he can slow it down, but he can't stop you.

ChefsSalad · 26/02/2023 19:16

Why are you not paying at least half the mortgage?

category12 · 26/02/2023 19:20

ChefsSalad · 26/02/2023 19:16

Why are you not paying at least half the mortgage?

Presumably because she's never been put on the mortgage or deeds and it's been their agreement that he pays.

MamOfFive · 26/02/2023 19:22

No. He can't rent to you while you're married.

sophmum31 · 26/02/2023 20:15

I was in this exact same position marital home all in ex husbands name, he left. Still paying the mortgage. He applied for a variation to the CMS and this was rejected by them as the house was in his sole name it would not qualify for a variation. During our divorce I did agree for him to pay less maintenance as he is paying the mortgage plus rent elsewhere and I did agree it was fair for me to cover the mortgage (and I desperately wanted to get the divorce over the line and this was part of the negotiation).

He has also threatened me with having to pay rent to live here. The mortgage is approx £350 a month and he wanted me to pay market value of £1400. My solicitor said in theory he could probably attempt to take me to small claims court to try and force me to pay rent. This is apparently very unusual between married couples but happens often when cohabiting. I just ignored his requests and he hasn't taken it any further. I'm still in the home until it sells and it's been almost 3 years since he left - he dragged out the divorce and is now unrealistic in what we can get for the house so it's still on the market.

Original poster
lirea1 · 27/02/2023 18:56

Thank you all💐

OP posts:
Naunet · 28/02/2023 08:45

My god, what a useless excuse for a father he is. Those poor kids, just abandoned by him, I hope they’re doing ok? How can his family stand him, let alone house him, when he’s treated his own children with such disregard? Awful, shameful man.

Moonlightsonatas · 28/02/2023 08:47

You need to start the divorce application process yourself. He doesn’t need to agree and it sounds like it’s going to get messy.

Cherrysoup · 28/02/2023 13:51

Please see a solicitor. The house is a marital asset if you are married.

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