Obtaining a court order to force house sale - advice & queries

[Kas]

Hi Legal Beagleites,

I have some questions about the process of obtaining a court order to force the sale of a property & whether this would be the best remedy to my situation.

My ex and I bought a house for 185k in March 2017 with a 58/42 equity split in my favour in the deeds. We then split up in January 2018.

We are both still living in the house and inititally I offered to buy him out. We got three valuations from estate agents and they were all well in excess of what I had thought, ranging from 240-260k.

We put the house on the market, both still living there, and it has been on the market at 240k for 3.5 months now across 2 estate agents, with very little interest. We have had one offer for £215k which we rejected.

I have offered my ex £220k but he refused this, saying it wasnt enough. He doesn't seem to understand that the house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Other similar properties in our area are being sold for this amount or less, which I have tried to show him but he still refuses.

Am I able to force the sale of the house to myself if the amount I am offering is reasonable?
Do you think a judge would consider my course of action reasonable?


Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[davenewbergr]

All property is owned on trust; it used to be that they were 'trusts for sale', but in 1996 this was changed by the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act ('ToLATA') and all trusts for sale were converted into 'trusts of land'. What this means is that your house is owned by you and your husband as 'trustees' for yourselves and each other. You are also both 'beneficiaries' of the trust of land. Beneficiaries (other than certain exceptions) who are adults are able to call for the assets of the trust to be sold and the money handed over.
So section 14 ToLATA states that anyone with an interest (you) in land (your home) can ask the court to make an order. There are other reasons for relying on section 14, but most of the time it is used to ask the Court to make an order for sale. Section 15 sets out the things to which the court must have regard when considering an application under section 14.
Generally, if one of two people who own a house wants to sell it, then an order can be made. In this case, based on the figures you give, you will have the house (and so you can live in it) and your ex will have about £92,000 which is a jolly good deposit for him to find a new home.
However, I note you haven't mentioned a mortgage; if a mortgage loan has to be discharged from the proceeds of sale and that leaves your husband without a practical way of buying a home, the court may be reluctant to make the order.
ToLATA proceedings are complex and I would not recommend that you embark on a claim for an order without taking full legal advice.
I know of at least 3 couples who are to all intents and purposes divorced, but they live in the same home because they can't afford to sell up and buy two new homes.