Rights to return to the home

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. This page applies to England only. Get advice relating to Scotland

If you want to stay in or return to the home, you should think about protecting any interests you might have in it. What you can do depends on what rights you have to the home.

Why protect your rights to return?

If you are planning to leave the home, you should find out the consequences of leaving before you go. For example, if you are a sole tenant and you leave with no obvious intention to return, you are risking eviction. If you want to leave your home, but think you may want to return to it later, you should try to protect your interests in it.

You can protect the home by keeping up the rent or mortgage payments on it. Whether you will be able to make these payments depends on whether you are the tenant or owner, or whether you have home rights and can afford the rent or mortgage. If you don't have home rights and are not the tenant or owner, but want to stay in the home, you may want to see if you can stop your partner from ending the tenancy or selling the home.

Paying the rent or mortgage

You will be liable for the rent or mortgage payments if you are an owner or tenant (either joint or sole) or if you are married to or in a civil partnership with the owner or tenant (ie you have home rights). If it is just your partner who is liable for the rent or mortgage (eg they are the sole tenant or owner and you are cohabiting), and they leave, you may want to try to establish the right to make rent or mortgage payments if you want to stay in the property. If rent or mortgage payments are not kept up by whoever is liable to pay them and you get into rent arrears or behind with your mortgage payments, you could lose your home.

I am married or in a civil partnership

Even if you are not the owner or tenant, if you are married or in a civil partnership and you have home rights, you will have a right to pay the rent or mortgage. If your spouse or civil partner has built up arrears, however, or goes on to build up arrears in the future, you will not necessarily be held liable for these.

I am the owner or tenant

If you are the owner or tenant, you are liable for the rent or mortgage payments. If you are a joint tenant or owner and the other joint tenant or owner leaves, you will be liable to make the payments without them.

I am cohabiting, but am not the owner or tenant

If you are not married or in a civil partnership and are not an owner or tenant then you have no right to pay the rent or mortgage. If you want to stay in the property, you can apply for an occupation order, which will give you home rights for as long as the order lasts. Home rights will mean you can pay the rent or mortgage. If you do become liable for the rent or mortgage, you can also apply for housing benefit or, if you're on income support or income-based jobseekers allowance and you own your own home, income support mortgage interest to help cover the costs. However, you will not necessarily be able to prevent the tenant from ending the tenancy, or prevent the owner from selling the property.

Help with housing costs

If you decide to stay in the home and your partner leaves, you may be able to claim housing benefit to help you pay the rent, or if you're on income support or income-based jobseekers allowance and you own your own home, income support mortgage interest. There are other benefits that you might be able to claim to help with housing costs, such as pension credit,income support, or income-based jobseekers allowance. For more information on these, visit the Department for Work and Pensions website or ask at your local benefits office.

Stopping a tenancy from ending

If your partner is a tenant, but wants to end the tenancy, what you can do to prevent this will depend on whether you're in a rented or owner-occupied home, as well as your relationship status, and/or whether you're a joint tenant.

I am a joint tenant

It only takes one joint tenant to give a valid notice to your landlord telling them that they want to end the tenancy. Therefore if you want to keep your tenancy, and you suspect that your partner is going to end it, it is essential that you let your landlord know immediately that you would like to stay on. Your landlord is not obliged to let you stay on, but there are legal steps you can take to transfer the tenancy into your name only.

I am cohabiting and am not a tenant

If your partner was the sole tenant and they leave, this will usually end the tenancy and you will have no rights to stay in the property. This can be prevented, however, if you get an occupation order before your partner leaves. If you suspect your partner wants to end the tenancy and you'd like to stay in the home, see an adviser immediately - they can advise you if an occupation order is the best course of action. If the court grants you an occupation order, then most types of tenancy will last as long as the order does. This would give you enough time to apply for the tenancy to be transferred into your name.

This course of action may be worthwhile if you have a more secure type of tenancy, such as an assured tenancy or a secure tenancy. If you're a private tenant, however, you may be advised that it isn't worth fighting for, as the landlord can evict you much more easily. If you're in private tenancy which you'd like to keep it may be enough to talk to your landlord, explain the situation, and ask if they can grant a new tenancy in your name.

Stopping the sale or remortgage of the home

Whether you can stop the sale or remortgage of the home will depend on whether you're a joint owner and/or your relationship status.

I am married or in a civil partnership

If you are married to or in a civil partnership with the owner of the home, you can prevent a sale or remortgage by registering your home rights. You can do this by applying for a notice at the Land Registry if the property is registered with the Land Registry, or by applying for a land charge to be registered on the Land Charges Register if the property is not registered with the Land Registry. You can contact the Land Registry for more information about this, or obtain advice from a solicitor. If you want to stay in the home and you don't move out, it will make it very difficult for the owner to sell, as you have the right to remain in the property even after it's sold.

I am a joint owner

If you are a joint owner, then both joint owners need to give their permission before a sale can go ahead. If you cannot agree whether the home should be sold, a sale can be ordered by the courts.

I am living with someone (a cohabitant, but not an owner)

If you are not married or in a civil partnership with the owner, you may be able to prevent the sale of a property by establishing a beneficial interest. You are likely to have a beneficial interest if the owner of the home is also a parent of any children you might have. To establish beneficial interest, you will need the help of a solicitor. If you cannot prove that you have a beneficial interest, then you have no automatic right to the home.