Would you give her a key ? (ex)

Malenko

Malenko

Malenko

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Morning folks.

I split up with my fiance a while ago, we'd bought a place together and as I earnt more than her it was agreed that I'd stay there for a while until I could either aford to pay her off or sell the property.

Since then I've met somebody else, we're renting a place together starting next month but for now she's moved in to my current place.

Proceedings are slowly going through to get the property sold. The ex turned up last week demanding I give her a key so she can be involved in the sale process and let people in if needed.

I can't see any reason for needing a key at all. If anybody needs to look round then the agent will take care of that, if not then either myself or a family member will be available to take care of it.

Under no circumstances do I want her to be able to access the property when I'm not there, especially as it's full of stuff belonging to myself and my new other half.

Now, ex-she thinks I'm being unreasonable and she has a right to access as her name is still on the mortgage (although I have made every single re-payment since the beginning, and as she isn't there she hasn't been expected to contribute for a some time now) ???

She's even hinted that she may hire a locksmith to change the locks again. As far as I'm aware she can't do this (can she ?)

Whatever happens, I'm not giving her a key - but does anybody else think I am being unreasonable about this ?
 
If she doesn't live there, then hiring a locksmith to change the locks would be 'breaking and entering' wouldn't it?

It it isn't then I'm off down the local Barclays with a locksmith :D

No, I don't think you're being unreasonable.
 
Cheers.

That's what I thought, even though her names on a piece of paper.... she doesn't live there and can't prove to a (reputable) locksmith that she should have access to the property, so any good locksmith wouldn't carry out the work.

If she does then I could and would prosecute.
 
Technically I guess she has rights in that the mortgage is still in her name too.

however, imho, tell her to f'off :)
You pay the bills, the agent has a key, so she has no reason other than being a nosey bint.
 
Did you sign anything saying the arrangement of her not living there and you paying? if not and her name is still on the mortgage then legally I believe she does have the right to enter and/or have the locks changed. As the house is still as much hers and it is yours.

Oviously if she does try and get a locksmith to change the locks then unless your there to stop them I would expect them to do it. Legally of course it would take months for a court to demand you give her a key and by that time the house would hopefully be sold.

Have you tried talking to her saying why you don't want her to have access? if shes not a phycho bitch from hell maybe she will understand your reasons.
 
That's the problem though - her name is on the paper and therefore both you and she own the property.

It all sounds very messy, with hindsight perhaps you should have drawn up some form of tenancy agreement to take into account that one of the parties was no longer resident.

To be honest, I would suggest seeking some legal advice on where exactly each party stands in this arrangement as no doubt the last thing you want to happen is to get the courts or the police involved and the hassle & expense that will no doubt entail.
 
If her name is on the papers then she has everyright to come and go as she pleases as far as I'm aware.

I was in a similar position once although it was me that moved out. I still had property left in the house and my ex refused to let me in to get it. I used to go back and 'break in' whilst she was in work. I checked with the police at the time and they said that as it was still my house as well there was no problem.

But best to get some advice to cover yourself.
 
The same situation happened re my sister and this went to solicitors ,if she owns half the house ( which if it is a joint mortgage she probably does ) then, unless there are very exceptional circumstances, she is entitled to a key
 
Hehe cheers chaps.

To be honest I doubt she would actually do anything about getting in. Although it was her that ended the relationship (quite nastily too) Methinks a tad of jealousy has started to set in.

I've already got myself a solicitor as she was acting very childishly and lying about money that she owed me from 2 months I stupidly let her stay in a spare room while she looked for somewhere else to stay.

Ahh well, just another month while I'm there then the place will be emptied, then hopefully all sold n completed in the not too distant future.
 
Rotty said:
The same situation happened re my sister and this went to solicitors ,if she owns half the house ( which if it is a joint mortgage she probably does ) then, unless there are very exceptional circumstances, she is entitled to a key
Click to expand...

She is legaly entitled to a key, but that doesn't mean she deserves one!

Personally whoever lives there and pays the bills can decide who has access.

If she wanted to get nasty and demanded then she can go down the legal route. I wouldn't hand one over. :)
 
My sister didn't give him a key in the end , she was told that if he went to court she would have to but if needed this could be dragged out for a considerable time
 
As already stated her name is on the morgage and her name is on the deeds.

I think you should seak further leagal advice as this could impact your sale if she decides to be vendictive. If she moves herself in then there will be no way of legaly getting her out and you will be stuck paying for her to live there. Also she has to sign the deads over to the new owners when you sell.

Also how are you set for recouping your investment in the house? Surely she can ask for half of the value of the house (after the morgage has been repayed I think). Unless you take it to court and prove she payed nothing to the house and in no way provided any form of support to you that enabled you to have more time, money or a better career.

If you want my advice you should take out a loan with the bank and buy your other half out now. Get the legal work done and then move on with selling your house and getting on with your life.
 
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So, legally she does have a right (of course) but she'll have to go through costly and lengthy legal proceedings to get a key out of me if I don't wish to hand one over.. That sounds good enough for me, as long as I'm not being petty or unreasonable about it.

Dammit, I'd be well chuffed if somebody else was going to sort everything out and eventually I'd get a wad of cash for absolutely nothing... other than signing a couple more bits of paper.

My solicitor has pretty much confirmed that nobody is going to force me into handing over a key.. Her actions when she moved out will also count against her (she took away all means of me preparing, cooking or eating any food)
 
Kronologic - At first it was planned that I'd borrow from my parents to buy out her half.
She got very greedy asking for more than half and rejected all offers my solicitor passed on to her (she won't even get herself a solicitior) After living there for a few months on my own, it's become quite obvious that it's just too much for me to be paying out on my own, and the property itself is far from ideal anyway so I;d prefer to just move on with my new partner.

I cashed in a policy that I'd only had for approx 10 years to put down the deposit, then I personally spent around another 5-7K on flooring and furniture etc. She probably contributed about 2-3k in total. Then I paid every mortgage repayment and a couple of bills every month, she was suppposed to pay all the other bills and buy food each month (which was always lower than the mortgage payment)

She's going to be getting half of any profit after all fees blah blah have been paid. She'll be making a few k and I'll be losing a few grand... Just want it all over with ASAP so I can start over again.
 
You could alwyas give her a false key..

If she has no reason to gain entry, then she should never need to use it..

Alternatively you could get/borrow a very very big dog.
 
Lol, false key would be funny but only wind her up and cause me more hassle.
Shortly after the locks were changed I got a call from her while I was at work asking if I was at home... Answered "err no I'm at work" then she asked why her key wouldn't fit the lock then started shouting through the letterbox...

Took her a few minutes while I was sat laughing at work to realise the locks had been changed.
 
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