You may have decided that you want to end the relationship but for a variety of reasons, you want to stay in your own home without your partner.
This may be because you have friends and family living near who can support you or because you don't want to change the children's school. Maybe you're the sole owner or tenant of the house or maybe you're clear that since the violence is their responsibility, you don't feel you should be the one to disrupt your life.
Be safe
Whether or not it's possible for you to remove your partner will depend on your particular circumstances and you should also give careful consideration to your safety.
Even though you're staying in your home, you may still find it useful to read the Crisis plan for information on useful documents to take copies of before your partner leaves the home.
(See also How can I protect myself if I stay without my partner?)
Ways of evicting your partner from the property
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If the home you live in is in your sole name and you’re not married to your partner then you don't need a court order to evict them. You’re only required to give them 'reasonable notice to quit' (which could be an hour to pack their things). This doesn't have to be in writing. If they refuse to leave you could consider changing the locks when they are out to exclude them from the property.
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If the property is in joint names (yours and your partners) or it is in your sole name and you are married to your partner or if the property is in their sole name then you will need a court order (called an occupation order) to legally exclude them from the property. An occupation order is a civil injunction which could (amongst other options) exclude your partner from the home. Occupation orders are easier to get if you already have occupation rights to the home e.g if
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It is in your name or both you and your partner's names OR
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It is in your partner's sole name but you have matrimonial home
rights because you are married to them and you have lived
with them there as husband and wife.(If they are the sole owner
of the matrimonial home you should consider registering your
matrimonial home rights with the Land Registry Office to prevent them from selling the property or taking out loans
against it's value without your consent.)
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You are also more likely to get an occupation order to exclude your partner from the home if you can show the court that you have an equal or greater need to live in this home (perhaps because you have dependent children who also need to live in this home and/or you would find it more difficult than your partner to find alternative accommodation)
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It helps your case if you can provide documentation (reports or letters) from other agencies such as health professionals or the police confirming your experience of domestic violence.
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If you live in a council or housing association property and your partner is a tenant and has been violent towards you then they are breaching their tenancy agreement and the landlord may be willing to take steps to exclude them from the property. You would need to talk to the landlord about this.
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If you have a joint council or housing association tenancy with your partner or you live in a council or housing association property that is in your partner’s sole name you could also apply for a civil court order to transfer the tenancy into your sole name. You can consult a housing solicitor or housing advisor to find out how likely you would be to succeed in such an application.
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In an emergency, you can call the police to remove them from the home on a temporary basis. They can only do this if your partner has committed a crime for which they can be arrested.
Who can I talk to?
You can seek further advice on all of these options. Remember that your
safety is the most important thing and that civil law options like injunctions are not a guarantee of safety. You could
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call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247
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contact a housing advice agency such as Shelter (on 0808 800 4444) or a Housing Advice
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If you are interested in protecting your Matrimonial Home Rights (because you’re married to the person who owns the home you live together in) you can contact the Land Registry Office at :www.landregistry.gov.uk
This article was last reviewed by Catherine Orr Deas in December 2005.
First published in February 2003.
