Married owner occupiers and safeguarding occupancy rights

In order to ensure that the non-entitled spouse is able to continue exercising her/his occupancy rights, s/he can take certain steps to protect those rights despite the fact the property is not registered in her/his name. [1] S/he can:

• pay the mortgage or instalments of a secured loan [2]

• carry out essential repairs [3]

• if authorised by the court, carry out improvements to the home which the court considers are appropriate for the reasonable enjoyment of the occupancy rights [4]

• take any other steps that the home owner may take to protect her/his occupancy rights [5]

• apply to the court for an order to enforce her/his rights. [6]

These steps can be taken without the entitled spouse's consent. [7] In the event that a lender commences proceedings to enforce debt secured on the family home, it is possible for the non-entitled spouse to defend the action and/or apply for a section 2 order suspending enforcement action under the Mortgage Rights Act. [8] For more information, please see the section on mortgage arrears - court action.

Either spouse can go to the court to seek an order apportioning certain expenditure incurred in the matrimonial home.

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

Either spouse can go to court to seek an order apportioning certain expenditure in the matrimonial home, for example the mortgage or payment for essential repairs. This means that the non-entitled spouse could pay the mortgage to ensure that the matrimonial home is not repossessed and then seek an order regulating the payments from the entitled spouse. When deciding how to divide the expenditure, the court will take account of each spouse's financial resources. [10]