Divorce and Renting

It's an ugly reality, sometimes relationships breakdown and there is no repairing it. If you are heading towards divorce court and are renting a property, you need to be aware of a few things.

Someone has to pay the rent! 

It's unlikely that both parties will want to be living in the same place, so someone will be moving out. It is also likely the person moving out, feels that the person still in the rental, needs to make sure the rent is paid on time and in full. However, if both parties have signed the lease, then BOTH parties are legally responsible for the rent and the care of the property until the lease ends.

Approach the Landlord/Property Manager

It maybe possible to approach the property manager or landlord to draw up a new agreement until the lease is up, to reflect the new arrangement (if one person is moving out). The property manager may be unwilling to change the lease, as things can get sticky for them if things turn south between spouses. So just be prepared for them to say no.

Access

If both parties are still on the lease, then both parties still have to have access to the property. That means, the person still in the property can't change locks and can't ask the landlord to deny access to the other party. If there is a restraining order involved or other legal issues, make sure you get legal advice, the landlord will likely need a copy of the order.

Financial

This is the tricky one. When the lease was signed the property manager probably looked at the combined income as the deciding factor in allowing both parties to rent the property. If that is the case, then typically that means the party staying, has had their income halved.  Talk to the landlord straight away and tell them about the situation and see what options are available. There maybe an option to take on a cosigner, or if the divorce is amicable, then both parties may chip in to cover the rent until the end of the lease. Otherwise, if the rent is too much for the party staying in the property then work through it with the landlord. Don't hide and hope the issue goes away it will just make it worse. The sooner the issue is addressed the better. The property manager will appreciate being included early in the process.

When it comes to the deposit and who owns it, it belongs to the parties on the lease so will need to be be paid to both, unless the lease has been changed and reflects the new tenants.

If you are dealing with this issue, the big key is to communicate with the property manager  (who no doubt has seen this before and has advice and experience to help you). Since divorce takes a long time to be finalised, it is likely that the lease will terminate before the divorce is final, therefore you can't wait before handling all the issues.

Good luck with your journey, if you have any points that would be helpful to other readers, comment below.