ABSTRACT
Where the matrimonial home is owned, perhaps the most valuable single right a divorcing person has is to establish the proportion of it to which he or she is entitled and have it transferred (Section 24 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973); and, while the marriage is continuing, the right to occupy it under Section 2 of the Matrimonial Homes Act 1983 if the other spouse is the legal owner, that is to say if the deeds are in his or her name. Right of occupation can be registered at the Land Charges Registry if the property is not registered land, and at the Land Registry it is registered by entering a caution against dealings with it. If the home is rented the position is different; where it is rented from a local authority the possibility of a transfer of the tenancy is restricted.
