I AM L.I.P

I AM L.I.P

I am a Litigant In Person

Occupational Rent For The Family Home In Divorce

 

Here on this webpage, we are just giving you an overview of the topic so you are aware that this type of claim exists.

Successfully claiming occupational rent for the family home during a divorce will depend upon the specific circumstances of your case. The court will take many factors into consideration when deciding if a claim is valid. When a claim for occupational rent is submitted to the court, the court will most likely include it as part of the whole divorce case and not a separate claim to be assessed by itself. Any claim is granted at the courts discretion. 

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL RENT?

Occupational rent is the sum of money that one co-owner of a property/family home may have to pay the other co-owner if they are exclusively occupying the property/family home.

Occupational rent is awarded by the court and only under certain circumstances.

It doesn’t matter whether the co-owners are married, civil partners, joint tenants or unmarried.

UNDER WHICH CIRCUMSTANCES COULD OCCUPATIONAL RENT BE CLAIMED?

Occupational rent is a compensatory claim which arises when one co-owner is deliberately and constructively EXCLUDED from the property/family home.

UNDER WHICH CIRCUMSTANCES IS OCCUPATIONAL RENT UNLIKELY TO BE A SUCCESSFUL CLAIM?

It is highly unlikely an individual who co-owns a property/family home can claim occupational rent under the following circumstances:

  1. If the court has granted the occupying co-owner to exclusively stay in the property/family home.
  2. If the court has asked the excluded co-owner to leave the property/family home.
  3. If the police have asked the excluded co-owner to leave the property/family home. 
  4. If the excluded co-owner left the property/family home voluntarily and the occupying co-owner has not prevented the excluded co-owner from exercising their legal right to occupy the property/family home.
  5. If the excluded co-owner deliberately stopped paying the mortgage and the occupying co-owner is paying it in full.
  6. If the occupying co-owner is caring for the children of the relationship between the co-owners in the property which was purchased for the sole purpose of being a family home.

HOW IS OCCUPATIONAL RENT USUALLY CALCULATED?

Occupational rent is calculated by the following method:

  1. Finding out the market rent for the whole property.
  2. Determining the percentage share of the property the non-occupying co-owner is entitled to.
  3. Calculating this percentage value of the market rent.