'Darling, I'm Leaving, You’d Best Pack Your Bags'

First appeared in Informer: Real Estate Newsletter - Spring 2013

Does the other joint tenant still living in the property have a right to remain there as sole tenant? The recent case of Sims v Dacorum Borough Council gives us the answer.

Mr and Mrs Sims's marriage broke down. They had lived together since 2002 as joint tenants of a 3 bedroom rented house in Hertfordshire. Their landlord was Dacorum Borough Council. After allegations of domestic abuse, Mrs Sims left the marital home to live in a women's refuge with their children. Mrs Sims also served a notice on the Council seeking to end the joint tenancy. The Council accepted her notice, and sought possession of the house. Mr Sims, however, was still living there, and was having none of it.

The Council's position, following the leading case on the subject, was that the notice served by Mrs Sims (being a joint tenant) terminated the tenancy completely. She did not need her husband's consent, she was perfectly entitled to end the tenancy, and both parties had ceased to be tenants as a result of her alone having served notice.

Mr Sims argued that the law was incompatible with his human rights, namely that of respect for his home and possessions. He said that the law had the effect of evicting him from his home without his consent. He had not wanted to move out, he was (presumably) paying the rent, he had not known that his estranged wife was going to serve the notice and he hadn't even received a copy of it. He asserted that his wife's notice, instead of evicting him, had the effect of releasing her from the tenancy but leaving him with a sole tenancy in its place. The County Court followed the previous authority and rejected Mr Sims's protests. Mr Sims appealed.

The Court of Appeal rejected Mr Sims's arguments as well. It was clear to the Court that there was nothing in the law, which disrespected Mr Sims's home or possessions. Mr...