Home Rights & Occupiers: Selling a House Someone Lives In

By Lisa Hayes · 29 September 2026

Yes, you can sell a home someone else lives in, but only if you deal properly with anyone who has a legal claim on it. A husband, wife or civil partner who isn't on the deeds has statutory home rights under the Family Law Act 1996. An unmarried partner, adult child or relative who has paid into the property may have a beneficial interest. A buyer's solicitor will find either one, and until it is dealt with, the sale won't complete.

Most of the sales I see stall on this are not messy divorces. They're perfectly friendly. One person's name is on the title, the other has lived there for twenty years, and nobody thought to ask the question until the buyer's solicitor did. So this guide walks through the whole thing: who has rights, how to find out, how to deal with them, and what your options are if the person in occupation won't cooperate.

What are home rights, and who actually has them?

Home rights come from sections 30 to 32 of the Family Law Act 1996. In plain English: if you are married, or in a civil partnership, and the home is owned by your spouse alone, you still have a right not to be thrown out of it. You can stay there, and if you've left you can, in some circumstances, ask a court to let you come back.

Crucially, that right is a right to occupy, not a share in the value of the house. It is a shield, not a slice of equity. But shields matter in a sale, because a registered one stops a conveyancer completing.

Who has them:

• Spouses and civil partners who are not the legal owner (or who aren't a joint owner).
• Only while the marriage or civil partnership lasts. The rights end on the final divorce or dissolution order unless a court says otherwise.
• Only for the home that is, or was intended to be, the couple's home.

Who doesn't: unmarried partners, however long the relationship and however many children you have. The law hasn't caught up with how people actually live. If you're in that position, skip ahead to the section on beneficial interests, because that is where your protection sits.

If you are still working out whether you can sell without a spouse's say-so, our guide on selling a house without your spouse's signature covers the legal starting point. This article picks up where that one stops, with the practicalities of dealing with the person who lives there.

What is a home rights notice, and how do you register one?

A home rights notice is an entry on the property's title register at HM Land Registry, and it tells the world "a spouse or civil partner lives here and has rights". It is made using form HR1. According to HM Land Registry's own form, there is currently no fee for entering a home rights notice, and the owner is notified once it is registered.

Three points that catch people out:

1. The owner can't stop it. No consent is required. If you're the non-owning spouse and you're worried, register it. It costs nothing but a stamp or a few minutes online.
2. Only one home rights charge can exist at a time. If your spouse owns two properties, you have to choose which one to protect. Land Registry's form says so explicitly.
3. Unregistered land works differently. If the property has never been registered, the equivalent is a Class F land charge (form K2).

Once the notice is on the register, a buyer's solicitor will see it. They won't complete without either the notice being removed or the spouse's written agreement to the sale. Lenders behave the same way. This is why registering early can give the non-owning spouse real bargaining power in a separation. It also explains why a seller who ignores the issue finds the sale stuck.

What is a beneficial interest, and can an unmarried partner have one?

This is the big one. A beneficial interest is a share of the ownership of a property that doesn't appear on the title register. It exists behind the scenes, under the law of trusts, even though only one name is on the deeds.

People acquire one in two main ways:

• By agreement or understanding. A conversation like "it's our home" can matter, particularly if the other person then acted on it (gave up a job, moved to be with you).
• By contribution. Paying part of the deposit, contributing to the mortgage, or paying for a major renovation can all count. Cases such as Stack v Dowden and Jones v Kernott in the higher courts set out how judges work out the shares, and the answer is not always 50/50.

Here's the bit that should make you sit up. A person with a beneficial interest who is living in the property may have what the law calls an overriding interest. In practice, that means their claim can bind a buyer or lender even though nothing appears on the register. Under Schedule 3 of the Land Registration Act 2002, rights of a person in actual occupation can override a registered disposition. That is why buyers' solicitors ask about occupiers, and why the TA6 form (the property information form you fill in) does the same.

If you own a home alone and your partner has paid towards it, don't assume you can sell without them. You may find yourself in a dispute over who's owed what, and the buyer will walk away in the meantime.

Why does the buyer's solicitor keep asking who lives in the property?

Because the answer changes the risk. The TA6 form, which sellers complete, asks about anyone aged 17 or over living at the property. The Law Society's explanatory notes are blunt about why: any other adults who remain on completion day "may have a legal right to remain in occupation if they can claim an interest in the property", and it's common to ask occupiers to sign the sale contract to confirm they will leave.

That means the questions are not bureaucratic box ticking. They're the buyer protecting themselves against a situation in which they've paid £300,000, and a person they've never met refuses to move out of what they thought was theirs.

Honesty here isn't optional. If you fill in the TA6 saying nobody else lives there, and somebody does, you've made a misrepresentation. It could cost you the sale after exchange or expose you to a claim. Our guide to the TA6 property information form explains what each section is really asking.

What is the difference between home rights and a beneficial interest?

You can have both at once. A married couple where one spouse contributed to the mortgage will often have home rights and a beneficial share.

How do you sell a house that someone else lives in?

There are five realistic routes. Which one applies depends entirely on how cooperative the occupier is.

1. The occupier agrees and leaves

The easy case. They agree to move out before completion, and they sign the contract to say so. Your solicitor will draft a short clause. If they are your spouse and a notice is registered, they also sign a consent to its removal on completion.

2. The occupier agrees to the sale but keeps a claim on the money

Common in separations. They agree to sell, but want a share of the proceeds. The clean way is a written agreement, ideally through a solicitor, saying how the net proceeds are split. Without it, the money can sit in a conveyancer's client account for months.

3. The occupier is a second legal owner

If their name is on the title, they have to sign the transfer. If they won't, see the section below on refusal. Our guide on what to do when a co-owner won't sell goes through it step by step.

4. The occupier is a tenant or lodger

That's a different legal animal. A lodger sharing your home is generally easier to remove than a tenant with a formal tenancy. We've a full write-up on selling a house with a lodger and one on selling a tenanted property.

5. The occupier refuses

Here you're in litigation territory. More on that below.

What if the person living there won't agree to sell?

Take a breath before anything else. A refusal doesn't necessarily mean a fight to the death. In my experience, it usually means one of three things: they are frightened of losing their home, they don't think they'll get a fair share, or they don't trust you. All three can be addressed with conversation and a decent solicitor before a court gets involved.

If that fails, the legal route is an application to the county court under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. The court can order a sale, and decide how the proceeds are shared. The court considers, among other things, the intentions of the people who created the trust, the purpose of the property and the welfare of any children living there. It is not a rubber stamp. Judges sometimes postpone sales for years where children are involved.

Practical pointers:

• Expect this to take months, sometimes longer, and to cost thousands in legal fees. Both sides' costs are often paid from the property itself.
• A registered restriction on the title (a "Form A restriction") may stop the property being sold without a second signature. Check the register before you assume you're the sole decision-maker.
• If domestic abuse is part of the picture, different rules and protections apply. Please speak to a specialist solicitor or a domestic abuse service before you take any step that could escalate things.

A related situation is when an owner can no longer take part in decisions at all. Our guides on selling a house when an owner has lost mental capacity and on selling under power of attorney cover those.

What does "vacant possession" have to do with any of this?

Almost every residential sale is contracted on the basis of vacant possession. That means the house is empty of people (and belongings) on completion day. If somebody with a right to be there stays put, you can't deliver it, and you're in breach of contract.

That's why buyers' solicitors ask for occupiers to sign. It isn't only about the occupier's legal rights. It's about making sure the person who has to leave knows it. Our explainer on what vacant possession means sets out the practical checklist.

Can home rights stop a sale, and can they be removed?

A registered home rights notice can stop a sale going through, because a buyer's solicitor and lender will refuse to complete over it. But it can also be removed, and that's worth knowing whichever side you're on.

• By the spouse's consent. They sign a release or cancellation, usually as part of the sale.
• On the final divorce or dissolution order. Home rights end automatically unless the court has ordered otherwise as part of the proceedings.
• On the owner's application after death or where the right has ended. With the right evidence, for example a death certificate or the final order, Land Registry can remove the entry.
• By court order. The court can terminate or restrict home rights during proceedings.

For the exact forms and current evidence requirements, check Land Registry's guidance or ask your conveyancer. I'd rather you get the paperwork right than rely on a summary from me.

What happens if the owner dies, or the house is in a trust?

Home rights don't pass to anyone; they end with the marriage. But death does not tidy everything up. A surviving partner who was in actual occupation, or who contributed money, may still have a claim against the estate or the property. If you are the executor or the person selling on behalf of an estate, check who is living in the property before you market it.

Where a property is held on trust, there's usually more than one trustee. Money from the sale has to be paid to at least two trustees (or a trust corporation) to "overreach" beneficial interests, which means transfer them from the land to the cash. That is a technical point, but it's why solicitors insist on two signatures. Our guide to selling a house held in a trust and the one on selling after a joint owner dies go into the detail.

Common scenarios: who needs to sign in each case?

What should you do before you even list the house?

This is where I'd earn my keep if you asked me over a cup of tea. Do these things first, and you save weeks later.

1. Download the title register and title plan. It costs a few pounds from HM Land Registry. Look for a home rights notice, a restriction, or a second owner.
2. List everyone who lives at the property. Every adult, including the ones who "only stay sometimes". The TA6 asks, and you'll need consistent answers.
3. Ask yourself who has ever put money in. Deposit, mortgage payments, extension, kitchen. Be honest, particularly with yourself.
4. Talk to them before your solicitor does. A frank conversation costs nothing. A surprise letter from a buyer's solicitor costs you a sale.
5. Get advice early. An occupier who signs a waiver without independent advice can later argue they were pressured. A short session with their own solicitor makes the waiver much harder to challenge.
6. Tell your estate agent and solicitor everything. Nobody is shocked. It's their job.

How does this affect a quick sale to a cash buyer?

It affects it a lot, and not in the way people assume. A cash buyer removes the mortgage lender and the chain, so the sale can run at speed. What it doesn't remove is the requirement for a good title and vacant possession. A reputable cash buyer's solicitor will do exactly the same checks, and will want the same signatures.

The difference is that a serious cash buyer sees these issues every week. They know which paperwork is needed and can often move faster once everyone has agreed. If you are in a genuine hurry, for example because of a separation or a mortgage problem, it can be worth comparing established house buying companies and asking how they handle occupier issues. Be wary of anyone who says it doesn't matter. Read our guide to cash house buyers for what to check before you accept an offer.

And if you're being pushed to sell by a lender, stopping repossession explains your options. In that situation a partner's or occupier's cooperation matters even more, because a court can be asked to delay a possession order where a sale is realistic.

Pros and cons of asking an occupier to sign a waiver

What mistakes do sellers make most often?

I'll be blunt, because these are all avoidable.

• Answering the TA6 with the "safe" answer instead of the true one. Solicitors find out. Buyers sue.
• Assuming a spouse's signature isn't needed because the house is in your name. It may not be legally required to transfer the house, but a buyer will still insist on it when there's a registered notice, and often when there isn't.
• Leaving it to the buyer's solicitor to discover. That is the slowest and most expensive way to find out.
• Getting a partner to sign a waiver over the kitchen table. If you want it to stand up, they need their own advice.
• Ignoring a second charge or a restriction on the title. Read your title register explained before you list.
• Choosing a buyer because they say "no problem". Nobody serious says that about an unresolved third-party interest.

What if you're the person living there and you're worried?

Then here is my honest advice. If you're married or in a civil partnership and your spouse owns the property, register a home rights notice using form HR1. It's free. It doesn't accuse anyone of anything, and it means nobody can sell over your head without you knowing.

If you're not married, you have no such shield, so the position is different. Look at the title register (a few pounds) and see whether there is a restriction. Keep records of what you've paid towards the home: bank statements, receipts, texts about plans for the property. Then see a solicitor, ideally one who specialises in property or family law, sooner rather than later. A trust claim is far easier to prove while the evidence is fresh.

How long will it add to the sale?

If everyone is cooperative and you address it before listing, very little. A signature on a contract costs nothing in time. A waiver, with independent advice on both sides, typically adds a couple of weeks to the process.

If you discover the issue after you have an offer, it can add a month or more, and it risks the buyer walking. If it ends up in court, months, and possibly more than a year. That is the whole argument for sorting it out first. The average sale already takes long enough without a self-inflicted delay; our guide to how to speed up a house sale explains where the other delays come from.

Your questions, answered briefly

A few things I get asked most, short version. The fuller answers are in the FAQ below.

• Does my spouse have to sign if the house is only in my name? Legally the transfer is yours to sign, but a registered home rights notice will stop completion, and buyers routinely ask for the spouse's signature anyway.
• Can my ex-partner stop me selling? Only if they have a registered interest, hold a beneficial interest and are still in occupation, or are a joint owner. Otherwise generally no, but check with a solicitor before you assume.
• Does an adult child have to sign? Buyers usually ask, to confirm they'll leave. It's about vacant possession rather than ownership.

Where to go from here

The single best thing you can do is find out where you stand before you put a board outside. Get the title register, list who lives there, and have the awkward conversation early. If you're also unsure what the house is worth, our guides on how much your house is worth and getting a free valuation will help you set expectations, and the full guides library covers most of the other snags that can appear on a sale.

If a sale is urgent, or complicated by a separation, a tenant or a title problem, it's worth seeing what real buyers would offer before you decide. You can compare offers through Ready Steady Sell. It's free, there's no obligation, and you're under no pressure to accept anything.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Home rights and trust claims depend on the facts of each case, so speak to a solicitor before you act.