Can I Stay in the Family Home After a Common-Law Separation in BC?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
Possibly, for a time. The Supreme Court may order a spouse exclusive occupation of the family residence for a specified period, and that order is temporary. It does not give a proprietary interest in the home.
To ask, you must be a spouse, which generally means living together in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous 2 years. If you have lived together less than 2 years but have a child together, you are still a spouse outside the property and pension parts of the Act, though whether that reaches this order is worth confirming with a lawyer.
The court can also postpone a spouse's right to sell or encumber the family residence, and can change or end the order. Staying in the home is separate from who owns it: a court can determine ownership, possession or division of property and give effect to it through transfers of title. The order does not continue after the spouse's ownership or lease ends unless the court orders otherwise. Your options depend on the title, the lease and your facts.
Key takeaways
- The Supreme Court may order exclusive occupation of the family residence for a specified period, but the order is temporary and gives no proprietary interest.
- The court can postpone a spouse's right to sell or encumber the family residence, and can change or end the order.
- A court can determine ownership, right of possession or division of property, and can give effect to a division through declarations of ownership and transfers of title.
- Whether you count as a spouse generally turns on a continuous 2 years in a marriage-like relationship, and a child together makes a difference only outside property and pension division.