By 
Success story
Months after a financial order said the former matrimonial home would be sold, there was still no sign outside. Her former husband lived there and blocked every step. This anonymised account, shared with her consent, explains how our family law specialists advised her on an order for sale with directions he had to follow.
A sale agreed on paper, and nothing happening
After a long marriage, the couple agreed a financial order, which the court approved. The order recorded their agreement to sell the jointly owned house and divide the proceeds. It also made a lump sum order in her favour, payable from the proceeds. However, it said nothing about who would run the sale or at what price.
He stayed in the house, ignored letters about valuations and would not instruct an estate agency. He cancelled viewings or was not in. Nothing she sent him to sign came back. Each month she paid rent on a small flat while her share of the equity sat out of reach. She felt foolish for agreeing to an order that seemed to mean nothing.
What the law says about an order for sale
The power comes from section 24A of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Where the court makes a lump sum order or a property adjustment order, it can make a further order for the sale of property in which either or both spouses have a beneficial interest. It can do so then or later.
Section 24A(2) lets the court add the consequential or supplementary provisions it thinks fit, such as payments out of the proceeds. In practice, directions on who runs the sale and at what price fit here. Section 24A(4) lets the court delay all or part of the order until a set event or period. Rule 9.24 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 also lets the court order a party to deliver up possession to the buyer.
Section 39 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 deals with a spouse who will not sign. If the family court has ordered someone to sign a contract or other document and they neglect or refuse, it can nominate another person to sign. The document then works as if the person who refused had signed it.
What we advised her to ask for
First, we checked the financial order. Its lump sum order gave the court power to make a further order for sale under section 24A. The gap was practical: nobody had the job of selling, and there was no timetable.
Next, we helped her gather evidence of the delay: letters, emails, notes from agencies turned away at the door, and her rent statements. We also suggested written valuations from two agencies to support her proposed price.
She then applied to the family court, with our guidance. Her application asked for conduct of the sale, so she could instruct the agency and conveyancer herself. It also sought a named agency and a price based on the valuations, with a set reduction if no acceptable offer came. Finally, it asked for viewings on reasonable notice and possession for the buyer on completion.
Section 39 only works where the court has already ordered a person to sign. So we advised her to ask for a direction that he sign the contract and transfer within a set number of days of being asked. If he then refused, she could ask the court to nominate a person to sign in his place.
How the order for sale moved things on
At the hearing, he asked for more time, saying the market was poor. The court made the order for sale and gave her conduct of it. It approved her chosen agency and set the price from the valuations, with a reduction if no acceptable offer came within a set period. Under section 24A(4), it also delayed the listing for a few weeks so he could move.
He had to allow viewings on 48 hours’ notice, sign the contract and transfer within seven days of being asked, and give up possession on completion. When the delay ended, she instructed the agency and the house went on the market under the court’s directions. Every case turns on its own facts, so this is not a promise about any other.
What to take from this if your ex will not sell
Do not wait for co-operation that is not coming, because each month can cost you rent. Instead, keep a record of every refusal and get valuations before you apply. Then ask for an order that your former spouse sign by a set date. If they ignore it, section 39 lets the court nominate someone to sign instead.
Our guide to enforcing financial court orders explains other ways to make a former spouse comply. See also who gets the house in a divorce and financial settlement after divorce. If you were not married or in a civil partnership, different rules apply to the home. You can also read how we prepare these success stories.
“Check at the Land Registry how the house is held. Owned as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving owner, and a will cannot change that. A written notice of severance, which needs no agreement from the other owner, makes you tenants in common with a share you can leave by will; then register a restriction. Once you have conduct of the sale, ask the agency for written feedback after every viewing.”
Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant, Kabir Family Law
Talk to us in confidence
If a former spouse is blocking the sale of your home, talk to us early. A free initial consultation is confidential and carries no obligation. Bring the financial order with you. One of our family law specialists will explain where you stand on an order for sale and what each option involves.
The legal issue
After a long marriage, a couple agreed a financial order on divorce and the court approved it. The order recorded that the former matrimonial home, held in joint names, would be sold and the net proceeds divided, and it made a lump sum order in her favour payable from the proceeds. It did not say who would run the sale, which estate agency to use or what price to ask. Her former husband stayed in the house, would not instruct an agency, cancelled viewings and signed nothing. Months passed while she paid rent elsewhere, with her share of the equity out of reach.
The law this rests on
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24A(1): where the court makes an order under s.22ZA, or under s.23 or s.24 makes a secured periodical payments order, a lump sum order or a property adjustment order, it may, on making that order or at any time afterwards, make a further order for the sale of property in which either or both spouses have a beneficial interest.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24A(2): an order for sale may contain such consequential or supplementary provisions as the court thinks fit, including a payment out of the proceeds of sale.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24A(4): the court may direct that the order, or part of it, does not take effect until a specified event or the end of a specified period.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010 r.9.24: when the court makes an order under s.24A, it may order any party to deliver up possession of the land to the purchaser or any other person.
- Senior Courts Act 1981 s.39: where the High Court or family court has ordered a person to execute a conveyance, contract or other document and they neglect or refuse to comply, the court may order it to be executed by a person the court nominates, and it then operates as if signed by the person originally directed to sign it.
How we approached it
We read the financial order closely and confirmed that, because it contained a lump sum order, the court could make a further order for sale under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24A. The problem was the missing detail, so we advised her to ask the court for clear directions.
We helped her gather evidence of the delay: letters and emails, notes from estate agencies that had been turned away, cancelled viewings and her rent statements. We suggested written valuations from two agencies so she could propose a realistic price.
She applied to the family court with our guidance. Her application asked for conduct of the sale, a named estate agency, an asking price based on the valuations with a set reduction if no acceptable offer came within an agreed period, viewings on reasonable notice and possession to be given to the buyer on completion. We advised her to ask for a direction that he sign the contract and transfer within a set number of days of being asked, so that if he refused she could go back and ask the court to nominate a person to sign in his place under Senior Courts Act 1981 s.39.
The outcome
The court made an order for sale under s.24A and gave her conduct of the sale. It approved the estate agency she had proposed, set the asking price from the valuations with a reduction if no acceptable offer came within a set period, and delayed the listing for a few weeks under s.24A(4) so he could arrange somewhere else to live. It required him to allow viewings on 48 hours' notice, sign the contract and transfer within seven days of being asked and give up possession to the buyer on completion. She instructed the agency herself, and the house went on the market under the court's directions. Every case turns on its own facts, and this is not a promise about any other.
What to take from this
- If a financial order says the home will be sold but your former spouse will not co-operate, an order for sale under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24A can add the practical directions that were missing.
- Check the original order first. Section 24A is available where the court has made a lump sum order or a property adjustment order, among others.
- Keep a record of every refusal, cancelled viewing and unanswered letter, and of what the delay is costing you.
- Get written valuations before you apply, so the court has evidence on price.
- Ask for directions that say who does what and by when, including conduct of the sale and a deadline to sign.
- If the court orders your former spouse to sign by a set date and they refuse, Senior Courts Act 1981 s.39 lets the court nominate someone to sign in their place.
- If you were not married or in a civil partnership, different rules apply to the home.
Checked and approved for publication by Hannah Overton.
Last reviewed .
