What is an occupation order?

An occupation order is a court order, in England and Wales, that regulates who lives in the family home. It is made under the Family Law Act 1996 and is often applied for at the same time as a non-molestation order, which deals with contact and harassment rather than the home.

What it can do

An order can say that your partner must leave the home and not return, that they must not come within a certain distance of it, that you are allowed to live there and they must let you in, or that each of you keeps to certain rooms. It can deal with who pays the mortgage or rent in the meantime. The court can attach a power of arrest, so that breaking the order means the police can act straight away.

Orders are usually time-limited, often six months, and can be extended. For people with no legal right to the home in their own name, the limits are tighter.

Who can apply

You need to be an "associated person" (married, civil partners, living together or formerly, parents of the same child, and other close relationships) and to have lived or intended to live in the home with them. A joint owner or spouse with home rights is on firmer ground than a cohabitant whose name is on nothing, though a cohabitant can still apply.

What the court weighs

Housing needs, money, conduct, and the likely effect on everyone's health, safety and wellbeing of making or not making the order. Where there is a risk of significant harm, the court asks whether you or a child would suffer significant harm without the order, and whether that outweighs the harm to your partner with it. Where abuse is evidenced, that test often decides it. Ordering someone out of their own home is a serious step and judges treat it as one.

How it works in practice

You apply on form FL401, with a statement setting out what has happened. There is no court fee. In an urgent case the court can make a without-notice order the same day, then hold a return hearing once your partner has been served. A solicitor makes a real difference, and legal aid is available for these orders where there is evidence of domestic abuse, subject to means. The page on legal aid for domestic abuse covers that.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland's equivalent is the exclusion order under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981, for spouses, civil partners and cohabitants with occupancy rights, where the order is necessary to protect you or the children from harm. Interdicts with a power of arrest usually accompany it. Northern Ireland has occupation orders under the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (NI) Order 1998.

What this might mean for you

An order changes the law, not the person. The days after someone is served can be the most tense, and the people who assess risk treat the time around separation as the most dangerous. An occupation order works best as one part of a plan, with a place to go if the plan fails. The free module Leaving safely helps you build that plan privately. If you are not ready to apply, Staying safer while you decide is for now.

This is general information, not legal advice. To talk to someone now: National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247 (24 hours), Men's Advice Line 0808 801 0327, Galop 0800 999 5428. In an emergency, 999, and press 55 if you cannot speak. Pressing Escape twice leaves this site at once.