Civil partner owner occupiers rights to occupy the home
Where a couple have entered into a civil partnership, both partners will be entitled to occupy the family home, regardless of which one of them is the homeowner.
The family home
A home shared by two civil partners is referred to in civil partnership legislation as the family home. One or both civil partners must be entitled to reside in the property. [1]
Where there is a sole owner
Where only one civil partner is the homeowner (the sole owner), s/he is referred to as the entitled partner. The other civil partner is referred to as the non-entitled partner. The homeowner's right to occupy the home comes from the right of ownership. The non-entitled partner's rights to occupy the home (known as 'occupancy rights') are bestowed by virtue of the civil partnership. [2]
If the non-entitled partner is not already living in the family home, s/he has the right to move in and live there. [3] S/he can also move in any child of the family. [4] The child could be a child, grandchild or someone who was brought up as if they were the child of either civil partner. There is no age restriction. [5]
Occupancy rights allow the non-entitled partner to take responsibility for the home as if s/he were the home owner. [6]
Expiration of occupancy rights
The non-entitled civil partner will stop having the right to occupy the home if s/he ceases to co-habit with the entitled partner and does not occupy the family home for a period of two years. [7] This will only be the case where the couple ceased to cohabit on or after 4 May 2006 when the relevant legislation came into effect. [8] In calculating the two-year period the court will disregard any time during which either spouse was seeking any of the following: [9]
an order declaring, enforcing, restricting, regulating or protecting the occupancy rights of either partner
an exclusion order suspending the occupancy rights of either partner
a variation or recall of any order relating to occupancy rights.
The period that is discounted begins on the date on which an application is made for an order (or the variation of an order) and ends when such an order is granted or the application is dismissed. [10]
Where there are joint owners
When the civil partners are joint owners, both have equal rights to occupy the family home. This is because they both have title to the property. Although both civil partners have equal occupancy rights, they may not necessarily have equal ownership rights. The division of ownership rights can usually be established by looking at the title deeds.
A court order is required if either partner wishes to exclude the other from the home. [11]
Enforcing occupancy rights
Even if a partner is neither the sole owner nor a joint owner, s/he automatically has occupancy rights to the family home by virtue of the civil partnership. However there may be situations when it will be advisable for a civil partner to seek a court order declaring or enforcing her/his occupancy rights, for example if s/he has been put out or is being kept out of the family home. [12] For more information, please see the page on court regulation of occupancy rights.
Last updated: 6 August 2020