Cohabiting owner occupiersand safeguarding occupancy rights

S/he can:

• pay the mortgage or instalments of a secured loan [1]

• carry out essential repairs [2]

• if authorised by the court, carry out improvements to the home [3]

• take any other steps that the homeowner may take to protect her/his occupancy rights [4]

• apply to the court for an order to enforce her/his rights. [5]

These steps can be taken without the entitled partner's consent. [6]

In the event that a lender commences proceedings before 30 Sept 2010 to enforce debt secured on the family home, it is possible for the non-entitled partner to apply for a section 2 order suspending enforcement action under the Mortgage Rights Act. [7] If action is taken after this date, the non-entitled partner can represent themselves at court and make any other order the court would take into consideration.[8] For more information, please see the section on mortgage arrears - court action

Where there are joint home owners, either partner can apply to the court for an order allowing him/her to carry out non-essential repairs or improvements. The other partner's consent is not required. [9]

Regardless of whether there is a sole owner or joint owners, either partner can go to court to seek an order apportioning certain expenditure in the family home, for example the mortgage or payment for essential repairs. This means that the non-entitled partner could pay the mortgage to ensure that the family home is not repossessed and then seek an order regulating the payments from the entitled partner. When deciding how to divide the expenditure, the court will take account of each partner's financial resources. [10]