Can I Make My Ex-Husband Sell Our House

[FiFiFi]

Me and my now ex-husband split in early 2009 we have 3 children together, he moved into his Mum's house but could never see our children. So in 2010 when I met my new partner to enable my ex husband to see his children, we agreed to move out and rent so that he could move back in with his girlfriend and then they would be able to have the children to stay once a fortnight. We bought the house in 2000 and both worked full time and both paid the mortgage. When he moved out I paid the mortgage but only for a year. When he moved back in with his girlfriend in 2010 we moved the mortgage to interest only as he said he couldn't afford to pay anymore. Me, my partner and our now four children 3 of them ex hubby's continue to rent paying £1400 a month for our house. Ex hubby and girlfriend have now lived in the Family home for 8 years still paying just interest only £300 a month and I am still on the mortgage meaning that me and partner cannot buy a house. I have said that I would like to sell it or offered him the opportunity to buy me out but he said he cant afford to take on the mortgage on his own or even with girlfriend. He has said that we can sell it, but that was last November and now we are in April and the house is still not on the market. Can I make him sell it as I want to buy a house with my new partner for us and our children to live in?

[bednobs]

yes, get a court order.
It seems odd it wasnt sorted out with the divorce - was there anything about the split of assets?

[Guilbert53]

I am afraid you are in a difficult position, as he has no incentive to sell the house unless forced to.

Sounds to me you were too "nice" back in 2010 when you moved out the house.

That gave him the strong bargaining position, and now he is your ex-husband you are in a poor position to force the sale.

When you divorced you should have either bought him out at the time, or sold the house and split the difference.

You need to go to a solicitor or to the CAB to see if you have any power to force the sale.

The fact you are still on the mortgage may help, but maybe not enough to force the sale.

[bednobs]

https://www.diemlegal.co.uk/court-order-force-sale-joint-property/

[Buenchico]

There are two ways of jointly owning a property. You can either be 'joint tenants' (where neither person owns a 'share in the property, as it's their 'partnership' which owns the whole of it) or you can be 'tenants in common' (where you each own half of the property). The answer to your question depends upon which type of co-ownership you and your husband have.

So your first step needs to be to determine whether you're joint tenants or tenants in common. Go here and pay £3 to download a copy of the title register:
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry
Check that you and your ex are both shown as co-owners and then look for this wording:
"No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court".

If that wording is present then you're tenants in common. That means that you can apply to a court for an 'order of sale'. (Although the forms are available online, it's not simple; get a solicitor!)

If the wording above isn't present then you're joint tenants. You can still seek an order of sale through a court but it's likely that you'd need to severe the joint tenancy first (so that you'd then become tenants in common) , making the process somewhat more complicated.

So you clearly need to consult a solicitor but in the knowledge that the answer to your question ("Can I force a sale?) is going to be "Yes".

[FiFiFi]

Thank you for your answers.
Looking back I was silly, but I just wanted to try and do everything as amicably as possible for the children's sake. He said he'd never see them if he didn't have a house. I just thought that he would keep paying money off the mortgage rather than interest only and then eventually the children would inherit in meaning they would benefit. He kept promising every time I asked him that he'd start to pay the mortgage off. It has become apparent that this is never going to happen and I don't feel he even looks to the future or thinks about the children's future so now I have to do something and buy a house so as they have something for the future.
We did the bare minimum in the divorce I divorced him on the grounds of adultery and he didn't contest it, to keep costs down with out solicitors so the splitting of assets was never a thing.

[mallyh]

could you buy him out ?

[bednobs]

also, when does the mortgage finish? there is going to be a big lump to pay (soonish)? when it does