What rights does having my name on mortgage give me?

[need_advice_please]

My partner and I split up about a year ago, we were unmarried and have 2 children.

Our mortgage was in joint names, she paid the deposit, I made the repayments. We could never really afford the house - it was bought on the strength of a job offer which fell through and the job I eventually got paid much less.

Within a couple of weeks of me moving out she'd met someone else who was living in a bedsit. She decided to use the rentaroom scheme to move him in and get him to pay the £400 a month he was paying for his bedsit to her, meanwhile I continued to pay the full mortgage for another 6 months or so.

Things were pretty amicable, when I picked my kids up on alternate weekends they were glad of the break and things were friendly. He kicked my kids out of their playroom so that he could turn it into a music studio which I wasn't happy about, but since my ex had agreed to it I didn't kick up a fuss.

However the tone changed in December when they decided to get married. Obviously when she told the tax credit people she was getting married, she lost £400 a month in single parent tax credits, he is on a low income so she started using the kids to blackmail me into giving her more money, despite the fact I was already paying almost 3x what the CSA said I should be paying, and when I refused they both turned nasty towards me.

I've also began to realise that the kids acting strangely isn't just down to their parents splitting up, but this nutcase who claims to be a bhudist has been telling them that I don't love them and only pretend to want to look after them, he shouts at them telling them their drawings are rubbish and generally puts them down, and when I rang my 9 year old daughter this week he was prompting her in the background to get me to pay for a tv licesnse for them! Telling her it's my fault they don't have a TV.

I've spoken to the NSPCC and Social Services, but neither say there is enough to do anything yet.

I don't mind making myself ill working overtime for my kids, but not for some lazy freeloader with no respect for my kids, me or himself!

He refused to give the girls money to buy their mum a mother's day card, because he doesn't believe in it. He didn't buy my ex a valentines card because he doesn't believe in it, he claims to believe in not harming any living creature, yet has a bet on the grand national, and it seems strange that he doesn't believe in valentines day or mothers day, but believes in marriage when a £180K house is thrown in on the deal.

Although we'd agreed that I would pay the mortgage by way of maintenance, since the CSA don't take mortgage payments into account she has gone to the CSA to get even more money out of me. I am unable to pay the CSA as well as the mortgage so I am refusing to pay the mortgage since she is living with her fiance and is due to get married in June.

What I'd like to know is:

1. If they get divorced, can he force her to sell my house to give him some of the equity?

2. Aside from repossesion and all the nightmares that entails, is there any legal requirement for me to pay the mortgage?

3. Since my name is on the mortgage and the deeds with a 50/50 ownership (though we have no formal agreement) do I have any say who lives in my house? Could I force him to pay rent for example (bearing in mind I am currently refusing to pay anything towards the mortgage).

4. Can they just setup "marital home" in my house without my permission?

Any answers appreciated!

[ZulikavanHeerden]

Hi there, i am sorry to hear about your story. Well my first answer for your first question is, of course he cannot decide without your both yes. The house was entitled for the both of you, so if one of you disagree on a decision about your house, the decision can't be approve.

If the house was named from the both of you, both of you are required to pay the mortgage or it's up to your deal. Because maybe you had a deal to each other.

What do you mean you don't have any formal agreement? Is it the documentary agreement? Is that what you mean? You cannot let him pay the rent because it was also named from him.

Of course they can't setup "marital home" without your permission. Any action that will be made from the will be agreed from the both of you first.


Zulika van Heerden
Home Loans SA | Homeloans SA