Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010

128

Orders for sale of property.

128.— (1) The court may make an order directing the sale of property specified in the order if—

(a) the property is property in which, or in the proceeds of sale of which, either or both of the civil partners has a beneficial interest, either in possession or reversion, and

(b) the court makes or has made a secured periodical payments order, a lump sum order or a property adjustment order.

(2) The court shall not exercise its jurisdiction under subsection (1) in a way that would affect a civil partner’s right to occupy the shared home by virtue of an order under this Act.

(3) An order under subsection (1) may contain the consequential and supplementary provisions that the court considers appropriate, including provisions—

(a) specifying the manner of sale and some or all of the conditions applying to the sale of the property,

(b) requiring the property to be offered for sale to a person or class of persons specified in the order,

(c) directing that the order, or a specified part of it, not take effect until the occurrence of a specified event or the expiration of a specified period,

(d) requiring the making of a payment or payments, whether periodically or in a lump sum, to a specified person out of the proceeds of the sale of the property, and

(e) specifying the manner in which the proceeds of the sale of the property are to be disposed of between the civil partners and other persons.

(4) A provision in an order under subsection (1) requiring the making of periodical payments to one of the civil partners out of the proceeds of the sale ceases to have effect on the registration in a new civil partnership, marriage or death of that civil partner, except as respects payments due under it on the date of the registration, marriage or death.

(5) The court shall, in considering whether to make an order under this section or section 118 or 119 with respect to a property in which a civil partner has a beneficial interest or in the proceeds of sale of which the civil partner has a beneficial interest, give to a person who also has a beneficial interest in the property or proceeds an opportunity to make representations with respect to the making and contents of the order.

(6) The representations made under subsection (5) are deemed to be included in section 129 as matters to which the court is required to have regard in proceedings under a provision referred to in that section.

(7) This section does not apply in relation to a shared or family home in which, following the grant of a decree of dissolution, either of the civil partners resides with a new civil partner or spouse.