Hi, my wife has moved out to live with her new boyfriend. Can I change the locks as she keeps just coming back and forth whenever she feels like it. When I ask her to make an appointment so I cna be there she says she don’t have to. What can I do, its not fair.
People who are married or in a civil partnership are not allowed to change the locks on their family home, if it has been, the main matrimonial home during the marriage or civil partnership. This is the case whether only one or both of you own or rent the home.
In these circumstances, neither party has the right to change of locks. You both have a legal right to be in the home and neither of you can exclude the other unless you have been to court and obtained a court order.
If one of you leaves the home of your own choice, the other partner still cannot change the locks until an agreement has been reached on the future of the home.
If you and your spouse or civil partner have agreed that one of you will move out temporarily until a more long-term solution has been reached, it’s also best to agree when they can enter the home, for example, to collect belongings.
If the other partner or spouse changes the locks without your agreement, you will be able to get a court order to provide you with a copy of the key.
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