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You can register your ‘home rights’ with HM Land Registry - this can help stop your partner from selling your home.

You cannot apply for home rights if your spouse or civil partner owns the property with someone else - unless your spouse or civil partner would get all the money if the property was sold (also known as being the ‘sole beneficial owner’).

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, .

Before you apply for home rights

You’ll need to know if the property is registered in your partner’s name, and its title number if it is.

You can search the register to find this information.

How to apply

You must complete a different application process for home rights depending on whether:

• the property is registered
• the property is unregistered

How long you can stay in the property

You can usually only live in the property until the divorce, annulment or dissolution has been finalised and a court settlement agreed.

You may be able to continue living in the property for longer, for example during an ongoing dispute about who owns what, if a court has made a ‘continuation order’ allowing you to do this.

What else you can do

You may be able to take legal action against your partner if they try to:

• make you move out
• stop you moving back into a home you’re not currently living in, for example if you moved out temporarily

A solicitor can advise you about this.

Download and fill in the application for registration of a notice for home rights.

Send it to HM Land Registry’s Citizen Centre. There’s no fee.

You’ll get a letter from HM Land Registry telling you when they’ve registered your rights. Your spouse or civil partner will also get a letter telling them you’ve done this.

If you want to move to a different property

You can only protect your right to live in one property at a time.

You can ask HM Land Registry to transfer your home rights to another property owned by your spouse or civil partner if you’ve already got home rights for one property.

Download and fill in the application for registration of a notice for home rights.

Send it to HM Land Registry’s Citizen Centre. There’s no fee.

Staying in the property after divorce or separation

You may be able to continue living in your home for longer, for example if a court has made a ‘continuation order’ allowing you to do so during an ongoing dispute about who owns what.

How you apply depends on whether you’ve already registered your home rights.

Download and fill in either an:

• application for renewal of registration in respect of home rights - if you’ve registered your home rights
• application for registration of a notice for home rights - if you have not registered your home rights

Send the form, along with an official copy of the court’s continuation order, to HM Land Registry’s Citizen Centre. There’s no fee.

You’ll get a letter from HM Land Registry telling you when they’ve registered your continued rights. Your ex-spouse or civil partner will also get a letter telling them you’ve done this.

Download and fill in the application for registration of a ‘Class F Land Charge’.

There’s a £1 fee - payment instructions are on the form.

Send the form and payment to the address on the form.

If you want to move to a different property

You can only protect your right to live in one property at a time.

You can ask HM Land Registry to transfer your home rights to another property owned by your spouse or civil partner if you’ve already registered your right to live in one property.

Download and fill in the application for registration of a ‘Class F Land Charge’.

There’s a £1 fee - payment instructions are on the form.

Send the form and payment to the address on the form.

Staying in the property after divorce or separation

You may be able to continue living in your home for longer, for example if a court has made a ‘continuation order’ allowing you to do so during an ongoing dispute about who owns what.

How you apply depends on whether you’ve already registered your home rights.

Download and fill in either an:

• application for the renewal of a registration of a ‘Class F Land Charge’ - if you have home rights
• application for registration of a ‘Class F Land Charge’ - if you do not have home rights

There’s a £1 fee - payment instructions are on the form.

Send the form and payment to the address on the form.

You’ll get a letter from HM Land Registry when they’ve registered your continued rights.

Your ex-spouse or civil partner will also get a letter telling them you’ve made the application.