Separation

[C & D]

If my husband leaves our marital home, can i ask for his keys or change locks?

[Bluemukka]

If the mortgage (or deeds) are in joint names then you can ASK him for the keys, but he does not have to give them to you.

It is also illegal to change the locks.

[{Dakota}]

You could get round it be ADDING a lock and not giving him the key though ;)

[Lonnie]

This is worth checking up on, I personally don't know the law on this, but I have a friend whose wife left him, and he said he had to leave the house open to her for a certain amount of time, in case she decided to come back, i'd assume its the same if the husband goes.

[lady_p_gold]

Well unless there was some sort of domestic violence situation then I would have thought he would be free to come and go as he pleases to his own home.

[undercovers]

if you tell him you are going to change the locks and he agrees there is no problem at all (just in case there is a problem later on maybe think about getting him to agree in writting e.g. get him to write a letter or email you maybe). The problem arises if you don't get permission as generally married couples will be unable to block access to the home or an area of the home to the other one as each owns the right to use the whole of the property, however this is not illegal in the criminal sense of the word rather it is illegal in the law of equity that will rule over this sort of thing... so you are not going to get arrested if you do rather the hubby can take you to court and recieve a remedy - prob opening of the door maybe but this would be expensive and time consuming.

I'm not an expert in this area, as you can guess, but if you phone around your local solicitors many of them offer free first half hours in which you could get a lot of this sort of info covered... i really would recommend it before you take any action. Good luck and i really hope things turn out ok for you

[Drusilla]

Hi C&D,
I found the question and answer below on a police site and hope it helps.

QUESTION
Should you change the locks to your property?

ANSWER
If your spouse has changed the locks and you wish to gain entry for any reason you should discuss the situation with your solicitor first. If you then decide to force entry you should take proof of your identity and your ownership of the property with you to show to the Police if necessary. If alternatively your spouse has left the family home or you have moved to another jointly owned property you may wish to change the locks to prevent the spouse entering without your permission. Alternatively if you have left the family and your spouse changes the locks you may wish to re-enter the property. Every spouse has a legal right to occupy the property and you can not prevent him or her entering unless you obtain a Court Order to that effect. If you change the locks your spouse may lawfully force entry. However your spouse is likely to be advised not to break into the property if you have changed the locks. It may therefore be worth while doing so.

[lacuna bless]

I changed locks upon discovering ex2b's new totty and her hubby had been drug-running abroad. I told him quite clearly my reasons. I thought totty and her hubby might pinch his keys and clear out contents. My solicitor said as ex2b had set up new home court would say I was entitled to my privacy, I was allowing him supervised access still, and also, if he moved back in it could take 3 days to enforce a court order to remove him again.

Lacuna bless