Can I change the locks?

wiifan | 20:55 Sun 30th Mar 2008 | Civil

3 Answers

Ive been with my partner for 5 and a half years, i have 2 children and we also have one together, we are living in a rented house which we've been in for just over a year, the tenancy is in joint names as is a rolling short hold tenancy.
We've been going through a rough patch for sometime now, and today ive noticed on my laptop that hes been going onto porn websites and has registered with one asking for 1 to 1 sex with women aged between 18 and 55 (hes 50).
Ive had this out with him today and refuses to admit hes wrong and he has no intention of moving out.
I cannot afford to move as im living on �156 a week and pay for everything, can i just change the locks and throw all his things out onto the drive?

power of attorney

can i force the sale of my property, we can't divorce unrtil the 2nd septemner 08, but our marriage is over

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CheekyChops

If its a rented house then no, you can't change the locks. They are not your locks to change. If you can't afford to move out then how could you afford to pay the rent on thbis place if you did change the locks?

themas

You can't change the locks - see above. Also, as it is a joint tenancy he has as much right to live there as you do. So if you tried to exclude him by force in any way he could go to Court & get an order to make you let him go on living there.

The only way you can legally exclude him is to go to Court yourself & get an order preventing him from living there. To do this you need legal help & you may not be able to get legal aid for it - depends on income & various other factors. You could try to find a local family law solicitor who does legal aid, & enquire about the possibility (CAB may be able to help with names - or contact Legal Services Commission (google).

Twenty20

From what you say this is a bigger problem than just the rented property. You need to decide whether you want to live with this person but taking into account the needs of the children also.

The only 'problem' youve mentioned is him using your laptop to access porn sites. Why not put a password on your laptop to stop him using it? Then sort out the bigger problems in your relationship.

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