Joanne Raisbeck, Legal Director and Head of the Family Team
Hill Dickinson LLP Can I lock my spouse out of the house? This is a common question often raised by clients in the initial stages of separation. It is important for clients to understand what they can and can’t do before they decide to take steps that they may later regret.
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There are actually very few circumstances where a partner can be forced to leave their home and they will usually have a right to stay in (or return to) the family home if they are married, in a civil partnership, a co-owner or named on a tenancy agreement.
Furthermore, where a property is owned in joint names, both owners have an equal right to access. This means that if one owner changes the locks in an effort to frustrate the access of other then the excluded owner can choose to instruct a locksmith to further change the locks in order to secure their re-entry.
However, if following separation a partner has been excluded from the property and that person is fixed on regaining access, they should be advised to exercise caution against any attempted break-in as they may inadvertently find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
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