As a team of family lawyers in Nova Scotia, we often discuss with our clients the different property claims available to them through the Courts. One such claim is that of occupation rent. Occupation rent is a claim that is found in the common law – that is – it is not contained in law. It is a concept which seeks to address the inequality which can occur when one spouse/owner vacates the parties’ home before the home is sold, or the equity in the home is divided. The claim is not limited to spouses, it can be claimed by common law partners and co-owners.

Because both parties/owners are equally entitled to be in the home, neither should be excluded from the benefits of living in the home. Parties often decide to leave the home and need to incur costs to live elsewhere, while waiting for the ownership of the home to be resolved.

Why Occupation Rent Can Be A Complicated Legal Claim To Make

Occupation rent is a claim against the party living in the home, seeking that they pay rent to the party who has left. Typically, this is awarded at the time of trial, as the party living in the home does not automatically pay rent to the party who has left in the interim.

Occupation rent can be a complicated claim to make, and it is not a claim every litigant will be successful in establishing it. The claim for occupation rent is very fact specific. Some circumstances where the Court has awarded occupation rent include:

Where there is no mortgage on the home, and the occupying spouse is not required to make monthly mortgage payments;
Where the occupying spouse has frustrated the sale of the home;
Where the occupying spouse does not have care of the children.

The Court considers all of the relevant circumstances of the parties before determining whether to grant an occupation rent claim.

Given the very fact specific nature of the claim, and that these claims involve an understanding of all the relevant legal factors, we encourage anyone who feels they may have a claim in this regard to book a consultation with one of our family law lawyers to discuss the options that may be available to you. You can also submit the form below to request a consultation.

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What constitutes common law?

A common law relationship is simply the act of living together in a marriage-like relationship without actually being legally married. It does not require any kind of legal process to create a common law union. The definition of common law partnership also differs depending on the laws applied. For example, the Canada Pension Plan states that two people are in a common law relationship after a year of cohabitation. The Parenting and Support Act, on the other hand, requires two years of cohabitation before a relationship can be described as common law.