Joint Tenancy: caution against a property without one owners permission.

[iananswer]

Hi
My parents who are married bought their home as a Joint Tenancy.

Later my dad got into debt and it turns out that this debt has been put onto the property in the form of a caution (Restriction as they are now called).
My mother who is now looking to divorce him just found this out.

My questions are

Is it legal to put a caution on a property without the consent of both of the owners?

If my mother wants the caution taken off would the first step be to ask a solicitor to write to the address held by the land registry.

If my mother divorces him will the proceeds of the house be split 50/50 then the charge be applied to his half or will the charge be applied the rest split 50/50?



Thanks

[Ethel]

The caution won't be removed until the debt is repaid.

Whether or not the division of equity reflects this debt is really down to your parents, or the court if they can't agree.

Mutual agreement is by far the cheapest and quickest way.

[themas]

1. Yes, it is legal.

2. Ethel is right - there is no point spending money consulting a solicitor about this.

3. If the debt was in your father's sole name, then the restriction applies only to his part of the equity in the house. So if/when the house is sold, the equity will be divided - either 50:50 or in some other proportion decided by your parents or the Court - and your mother will then get the whole of her proportion. All the debt will come off your father's proportion, unless your mother agrees something different.

[themas]

To add to my answer to query 1. Consent is not needed, but I think it is normal for the Land Registry to notify the joint owners of the restriction when it is requested. Perhaps this was done & your father managed to intercept the post?

[iananswer]

Thanks to ethal and themas for their answers

I will answer my own question , we found the following out from the citizens advice bureau

3) When the charging order/Caution was applied to the house which was held as Joint Tenancy , the tenancy agreement automatically changes to tenants in common. So my mother will automatically get 50% of the house and my fathers 50% will be used to pay off the debt.