Exclusion order

An exclusion order is a court order that tells someone they can no longer live in the family or shared home. This could be because it is necessary for your safety, or the safety of your children.

You can apply for an exclusion order while you are still in your home or staying somewhere else temporarily.

You must go to court for an exclusion order  but you can ask the court for an interim exclusion order. This will give you temporary protection while you are waiting for your case to be heard.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership

The court can make an order telling your spouse or civil partner to leave and stay away from the home.

You can also ask the court to put more conditions in place.  For example, they can tell your spouse or civil partner not to:

• come within a certain distance of the home. 
• remove any furniture or anything else from the home

The order will end if you get divorced or end your civil partnership if the order hasn't already been ended by the court.

If you live together and both have the legal right to live in the home

Having the legal right to live in the home means you:

• own the property together
• are joint tenants and both names are on the tenancy agreement

The rules are the same as if you were married or in a civil partnership.

If you live together and you do not have the legal right to live in the home

If you do not have the legal right to live in the home because you are not joint tenants and you do not own the property together, you would need to ask the court to make an order giving you that right.  This is called occupancy rights. You can then ask the court to make an exclusion order. 

The order giving you occupancy rights and the exclusion order can last up to six months.  You can ask the court to make further orders for up to six months at a time.