QLD Tenants living in marital home with spouse after separation

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Lou W

Member
14 July 2019
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Hi
My friend has split from his partner and it has all become quite messy. She has remained in the marital home that is under mortgage in both names. She has changed the locks and will not let him in the house although he has legal right to. There is an order in place (not DVO, lesser one) that says he and people he is connected with can not be within a certain distance of her. However he is meant to be able to access the house if she is not there. He has filed a DVO against her which is in process. She has been ordered to pay the mortgage as he has to pay rent.
It is believed that she has tenants in the house paying rent to help her cover the mortgage. The current insurance policy on the house does not cover tenants. My friend wants to firstly confirm that there is tenants in the house and if so take some type of action to guarantee that any damage or payment issue caused by the tenants is some how covered ie either through the insurance policy (she has put in her name so he cannot make changes) or by forcing them to sign a tenancy agreement and pay bond. Is there any process to force her to do this? Does she have a legal requirement to tell him if someone else is residing in the house that they still both own?
If it comes down to it that the house has to be sold, any damage caused by tenants (either accidentally, willfully or order by her which is possible) will cause delay in sales and potentially mean additional cost to get fixed (something she potentially cannot do due to her limited income without rent).
It has also been mentioned by a mutual acquaintance that she may be claiming some type of financial assistance/benefits and is not declaring the income. Yes a lot of this is hearsay at the moment, however would like to be prepared should he have to act.
Any guidance to appropriate law or anything would be appreciated.
This is a very messy situation and this is just a small part of it.
Cheers
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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720
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So clearly he has started legal proceedings?
So my advice... Take the dog for a walk, chill out. Stress less.
See she has been ordered to pay the mortgage.... I'm assuming this matter is before the courts then? So if she doesn't get tenants in and cant cover the mortgage the bank could take the house and sell it on the cheap. How does that help your mate? It doesn't
Sure she could trash the place - then it sells for less and she gets less of the proceeds from the sale...

Just get the family law stuff sorted get him off the title of the house and move on. OR fight every battle to the bitter end and lose heaps of money and gain lots of stress.